Avoiding Estrangement
by Twisteddarkness225
Summary: Lori, in a fit of anger, hurt Lincoln. Now she's in trouble with her parents and her siblings aren't happy with her either. Rated T for language, some minor violence and mention of substance use. Potential OOC moments may be present.
1. Chapter 1

Hey all, Twisteddarkness225 here with my next Loud House story. I got a few reviews and messages regarding whether or not I'd attempt a 'Deleted Scenes' for the "Brawl in the Family" episode that was so poorly received (for good reason). I'm sorry to say that I won't be doing a deleted scenes for it and that is for two reasons.

One, at the moment anything I thought up along those lines has pretty much ended up with me practically re-writing the entire episode and aside of that being more effort than needed, it also makes me feel like I'm making it non-canon. I'm not against non-canon, but in my opinion any 'Deleted scenes' fics should be kept canon. But that's just my opinion.

The second reason is that I already was working on an idea for the episode before I saw 'No Suck Luck' and was inspired to do the 'Deleted Scenes' for that episode. This one is going to be a multi-chapter story and I want to work with what I came up with, even if it turns out to be less popular.

As for this story, it's going to address one of the major issues that I had with the "Brawl in the Family" episode. The parents. They had a complete lack of authority througout the episode despite their ability to easily take charge in other situations throughout the series. Plus the Sister-Fight-Protocol itself did have some flaws and I'll bring that up in a later chapter. But for now, I present

 **Avoiding Estrangement: Chapter 1)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own The Loud House and make no money from this story.

The inside of the warehouse was almost completely dark, only a few rays of light coming through the wooden boards covering its windows. There were crates stacked halfway up to the ceiling, arranged in paired rows throughout the building's vast space. A lone figure cautiously stepped through the darkness, his eyes warily scanning for any signs of movement. He knew he wasn't alone and that the other presence in the warehouse would most likely try to catch him off guard and then either escape, or try to kill him. But years of experience made him wise when it came to this enemy, and he was well aware of the fact that she was creeping around in the darkness behind him, awaiting the chance to strike.

Lincoln Loud gulped audibly as he gazed at the last panel on the last page of his newest 'Ace Savvy' comic book. His beloved hero was being challenged yet again by his evil arch-nemesis the Card Countess. And this latest issue left off with a doozy of a cliffhanger too. It was enough to both leave Lincoln excited for the next month's issue where he could see how things turned out, and yet also frustrated him that he would have to wait so long for the conclusion. But until then he at least had other comics stacked up which he could read, among other ways to pass the time. And as he grabbed the next comic he wanted to read, he readjusted himself in his spot by the tree in his family's backyard.

"If there's anything better than having a three day weekend, it's a three day weekend with no homework. Nothing but three days off of school with nothing to do except the things I love." Lincoln said before pausing for a moment. "Well, okay...I have some homework. But it's nothing that can't wait."

He opened his next comic and resumed reading. However, he was unable to make it more than halfway through the first page. His light was suddenly blocked off by a tall shadow, making it difficult for him to read the text on the page. He then heard someone clearing their throat and he looked up to see his father glaring down at him disapprovingly.

"Oh, hi Dad." Lincoln said. "What's up?"

"What' s up is that I just heard you say that you plan on procrastinating your homework. You know how your mother and I feel about that."

"It's just a book report. And it's not due until Wednesday."

"That doesn't change the fact that you should start working on it now. And I know that your teacher won't let you do a book report on a comic. So why don't you just head inside and pick out a good book to get started?"

"But..."

"But nothing mister. You go inside and do that homework! And then you can come out here and help me with some of the yardwork afterwards. I'll be in to check on you in a bit, so you'd better be doing your assignment."

Lincoln sighed, accepting that he wasn't going to get out of this. He wanted to tell his father that he had already read the book for his report, and that the report was almost done anyway. All he had to do was the conclusion and then review the whole thing to make sure that he was satisfied with it before he decided it was ready to be turned in on Wednesday. But his father did have a point. At least when he finished it he could show it to his father and then he could enjoy the rest of his Friday afternoon, whether he had to do yardwork or not.

Heading inside, Lincoln cut through the dining room and then headed upstairs. When he arrived at the top he noticed his older sister Lynn was by his bedroom door, leaning against it and looking rather bored. She took notice of him and held up her hand, signaling him to stop.

"Sorry Linc, I can't let you pass."

"What are you talking about?" he questioned with one eyebrow raised. "It's my room, why can't I go inside?"

"Lori is in there. Sister-Fight-Protocol."

Lincoln groaned, starting to feel frustration bubble up inside him. Every fiber of his being despised that stupid protocol and all of the inconveniences that it caused. But he had made a promise to his sisters to butt out of any future fights that were just between them. Although regardless of that, he still needed to do his book report. And said book report was inside of his backpack, which was inside of his room.

"Okay, fine. Whatever. I won't get involved in whatever is going on. But I need to get something out of my room. Could you let me ask Lori if I can just grab my backpack really quick? I won't take more than a few seconds."

"Well...okay. But let me ask her." Lynn replied, turning to the door and knocking. "Hey Lori? Lincoln's here. He want's to know if..."

"Tell him to go away!" Lori snapped. "I want to be alone!"

Lynn turned back to Lincoln and shrugged. "Sorry bro, I tried."

Lincoln sighed. "Just let me talk to her." He said as he stepped forward and knocked. "Lori, please let me in. I'm not going to bug you, I just need to get my homework."

"You can do your stupid homework later!"

"But dad said that I have to work on it now!"

"That's _your_ problem!"

Lincoln felt his frustration grow, bordering on anger. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He knew he didn't want to provoke Lori when she was already in a bad mood, and getting mad himself wasn't going to help with the matter either. After waiting a few seconds to cool off he decided to try again, hoping Lori would be more compliant this time.

"Please Lori?"

"I said NO! Get lost you stupid twerp!"

Lori banged the door to emphasize her point. Lincoln clenched his teeth as his frustration returned full force. He felt it was unfair that his oldest, and supposedly 'most mature' sister was taking her bad mood out on him over nothing. He didn't even know what her problem was, but he knew he didn't deserve to be spoken to that way.

"What the heck is bothering her anyway?" He asked Lynn.

"She and Leni had another fight."

"Oh for crying out loud, what's wrong this time? Did she see that Leni bought the same color nail polish as her?"

The sound of Lori slamming her fist against the door again caught their attention. Lynn gave her brother a soft glare, her way of warning him without words to watch his step. Lincoln only crossed his arms, still expecting an explanation. His athletic sister led him a few steps away from his bedroom door, not wanting to further upset Lori should she be trying to listen in.

"Leni was spending time with Bobby while Lori was out today. They were in Lori and Leni's room, with the door shut, when Lori caught them. Leni was taking a selfie with Bobby and both of them started to act suspicious when they saw her. She thinks that Bobby was cheating on her with Leni."

Lincoln took a moment to absorb everything Lynn had just told him. Not only did he find it hard to believe, but it was just plain ridiculous. There was absolutely no way that Leni would try to steal Bobby from Lori. She had been fully supportive of her older sister's relationship since the moment she had learned of it. She would be the last person who would try to steal her big sister's boyfriend from her.

"Okay Lynn, you have to admit that doesn't make any sense. Has Lori even tried to talk to Leni about what she saw?"

Lynn shrugged. "No idea."

Another frustrated sigh escaped Lincoln. It was really starting to get difficult for him to stay out of this. But to be fair, this was much more serious than the usual 'Sister-Fight-Protocol scenarios'. And unless Lori was right, which Lincoln seriously doubted, then this was also unfair to Leni. His brotherly instincts got the better of him and he went back to his bedroom door, taking a deep breath again.

"Lori? Do you want to talk about what's going on?"

"It's not any of your business! Not that you could do anything anyway!"

"But I..."

" _GET. LOST!_ "

Lincoln stepped back and frowned. It was clear that Lori had no interest in listening to him. But he still felt the need to do something. It occurred to him that he could just walk away and wait for this to be resolved without his interference, and a little voice in his head encouraged him to do so. But then he'd have to be ready to deal with his father later on when he was caught not doing his homework like he had been told.

Wait...that was it! Lori could give him all the attitude she wanted, no matter how much he disliked it. But if she did the same to one of their parents, all she would get is trouble. And since Lori was keeping him from getting into his room, and therefore keeping him from doing his homework, he had a good excuse to tell his dad. It was a guaranteed success.

"Uh-oh. I know that look." Lynn said. "Lincoln, whatever you're thinking...don't."

"Just hear me out." Lincoln said confidently. "Do you really want to be stuck inside to guard Lori all day? Wouldn't you rather be outside on a nice day like this? Maybe riding your bike or playing basketball or something?"

"Well...yeah. I would actually love to be doing _anything_ besides this."

"And as Lori's younger siblings, I don't think it's fair that either of us should have to be inconvenienced just because she's in a bad mood. So I'm going to go and get Dad and he can help us sort this all out. Okay?"

Lynn didn't argue with him. He was making sense after all. There was no need for her to be playing 'bodyguard' for Lori when their dad could step in and take care of the problem. And it would be nice for her to have the rest of her Friday afternoon back. She was glad Lincoln had thought of it. But there was something wrong with the plan. Lori had heard everything, and she wasn't pleased at all.

"Seriously Lincoln?!" She shouted. "You're stooping to tattling on me?! You really are a twerp!"

"So what if I am Lori?" Lincoln retorted. "You aren't exactly being very fair to me! All I want is to go in my room!"

For a moment there was only silence. Then the doorknob on Lincoln's bedroom door started to turn. The door opened a crack and then nothing. Lincoln stared at the ajar door, hesitant to do anything. But he took a step towards his room and tried pushing the door open further. He cautiously went to peek around the door, his fingers gripping the door's side.

He ended up regretting that immediately.

Lori had been waiting for him to enter. And once she saw him trying to do so, she kicked the door with all her might. Lincoln had been able to get his head clear in time, bu could not say the same for his hand. His fingers got caught between the door and the door frame, sending a sharp pain through them. Luckily it wasn't enough to break the bone, but it certainly stung a lot. He yanked his hand back and hissed in pain as Lori shut the door again.

"Serves you right, you little weasel!"

That was it. Lincoln didn't care anymore. Lori needed to be told off and consequences be damned. His anger welled up and burst forth as he let his emotions control his actions.

"You know what Lori?! You are a BITCH! I wouldn't be surprised if Bobby did decide to cheat on you! And I wouldn't blame him either! I know I wouldn't want to date a girl who's such a spoiled brat! You don't deserve someone as good as him!"

Those words had barely left his mouth when suddenly a powerful malevolence could be felt behind his bedroom door. Lynn could sense it too and her sharp reflexes allowed her to grab the doorknob before Lori could open the door. There was a momentary struggle between the two, each trying to pull the door in their resective direction. This ultimately resulted in the doorknob snapping off on both sides, making it so the door was stuck shut.

"That was close." Lynn commented. "Are you crazy? You realize that she would have totally destroyed you, right? You didn't just poke a sleeping bear. You went and kicked it in the face."

"So what? That stunt she pulled was uncalled for! It's just another reason for me to go and get dad."

Lincoln turned to leave but stopped when he heard a crash. The sound originated from inside of his room. Other noises followed, accompanied by cries of anger from Lori. It didn't take long for Lincoln to piece together what was happening. Lori was wrecking his stuff. He tried to open his door, but he couldn't get it to budge. Then he tried to slam his body into it, to break it open, but had no better luck. Lynn had him step aside and she, in one swift and powerful motion, kicked the door off of it's hinges.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Seriously, I don't need to get grounded for that."

The two moved the door aside and were greeted by a horrible sight. In a very short amount of time, Lori, in her pure rage, had completely destroyed the entirety of Lincoln's bedroom.. All of his possessions were broken, his clothes torn to tatter and strewn about. And in the center of it all stood Lori, clutching Lincoln's stuffed bunny Bun-Bun in an iron grip. When she saw her younger siblings she twisted the head off of the beloved toy and she advanced on her brother.

Lincoln watched in shock as Lori decapitated Bun-Bun. But he had no time to mourn the loss. No time to react in anger. His sister was striking fear into him and he could only back away. Lori managed to grab hold of his shirt and she lifted him up off of the floor. She felt Lynn grab her arm and she glared at the brunette, letting Lincoln go.

"You stay out of this!" She spat venomously, slapping Lynn across the face hard enough to send the girl reeling. "And YOU!" She continued, returning her attention to her cowering younger brother. "Let me tell you what _you_ are! You are pathetic, obnoxious, disgusting and a total disappointment! You get in the way, never mind your own business and you cause more trouble than you're worth!"

Lori shoved Lincoln backwards, the boy barely maintaining his balance. Lynn tried to interfere again, but Lori shoved her back as well, keeping her focus on Lincoln. Her eyes glaring at him with a fiery spite.

"I wish our mother hadn't given birth to you. You're literally nothing but a mistake!"

Lori struck Lincoln across the face with such force that he stumbled over. He suddenly felt weightless and discovered that he had gone over the top step of the staircase. His body tumbled down the steps and he landed face first on the floor below. When he lifted his head, he was seeing stars and felt something warm and moist on his face. Once he came to his senses he realized that it was blood. He brought his hand to his face and was shocked to see just how much of it was there. The sound of Lori calling him caught his attention and he panicked and ran out the front door, tears streaming down his face.

Chaos broke loose the moment he left. The other Loud children had heard the commotion and had seen their brother fall. Now they were all either at the open door, calling for him to come back or glaring angrily at their older sister, berating her with nasty comments. But this cacaphony was quickly silenced when a booming voice called for their attention.

Lynn Loud Sr. stood at the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, a cross expression on his face. Even while outside in the backyard he had heard all of the yelling Lori had done. And when he came inside to check, he had just missed Lincoln bolting out the front door. But he saw all of his daughters reaction after and knew that something was up. Which left him with only one question.

"What the heck is going on in here?!"

End of chapter 1.


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, I'm pleasantly surprised to see just how many favorites and follows this story got after only one chapter. Not to mention the reviews! Thanks to all of you who reviewed, favorited and followed. I hope you all find the second chapter to be just as enjoyable to read.**

 **Avoiding Estrangement: Chapter 2)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Loud House and make no money from this story.

Lynn Loud Sr. wasn't usually quick to anger. It had been a requirement as the father of eleven children to learn how to be patient and understanding if any trouble should be caused by any of said children. He would still become frustrated from time to time if the trouble in question was something significant, but he always kept himself from losing his temper. Although, at the current moment, he found himself at his limit.

The scene before him wasn't pretty. The kids had made some pretty bad messes before when they had fought, but this was on a whole other level. Lori had managed to break everything that her brother owned. His models, games, and laptop were all in pieces. Shredded remains of his comics, graphic novels, clothing and bedsheets were all over the small room. The mattress had been impaled repeatedly by the rack where Lincoln had hung his shirts and coats, after Lori had torn it down and snapped it into smaller pieces. She had also smashed his bedframe, using one of the bedposts to bash the shelf above Lincoln's dresser, as well as the dresser itself. Then she had used the post to break the small, solitary window in the room with enough force to leave a hole in the wall that went clean through to the outside of the house. And finally, she had torn down the light fixture from the ceiling.

"I can't believe this." Lynn Sr. muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You really crossed the line this time young lady. What in the world were you thinking?!"

"I...I don't know!" Lori exclaimed, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "I literally have no idea what I was thinking!"

"Well you'd better start to think of how you're going to make up for this. Because this is not something your brother can just forgive and forget. You completely destroyed his room and then you knocked him down the stairs! Even if you had a good reason to be mad at him that still would have been unacceptable. But you didn't have a good reason, did you?"

Lori shook her head, still fighting back the tears.

"Well at least you can admit to what you did. Not that is changes much. We'll discuss your punishment once I've found your brother. And you better be ready for your mother when she gets home. She'd definitely going to have something to say about this."

"You still haven't heard everything Dad." Lynn jr. interjected, throwing a spiteful look at her older sister. "Lori said something to Lincoln before she knocked him down the stairs. Something really bad."

Lynn Sr. glared at Lori, waiting to see if she would speak up. But the teenager remained silent. Considering how mad her father seemed already, she was afraid to give him anything else to be mad at her for. That and she was ashamed of herself for what she had said, not to mention what she had done. The whole ordeal seemed like a terrible dream, except she had yet to wake up. The sight of Lincoln has he fell down the stairs flashed through her mind, making the feeling worse.

"So you aren't going to tell me what you said to your brother?" Lynn Sr. asked, a hint of impatience in his voice. "Okay, fine. Junior, what did your sister say to him?"

"She said that he was a mistake and that Mom shouldn't have given birth to him."

"WHAT?! I cannot believe this! Lori Loud, you head downstairs into the kitchen and stand in the corner silently until either your mother or I say otherwise, _right now!_ "

"You...You're putting me in time out?" Lori asked incredulously.

"For starters, yes." her father stated frankly. "Once your mother gets home we'll figure out the rest of your punishment. But for now, get downstairs and stand in that corner!"

Lori obeyed and started down the stairs. The rest of her sisters were assembled in the living room and many of them were giving her dirty looks. She felt very uncomfortable having to walk by all of them, still feeling their eyes on her even after she had left the room. And as ordered, once she had entered the kitchen, she walked into the nearest corner and stood there, letting her head hang in shame.

"I'm going to see the McBrides." Lynn Sr. told his other daughters as he got ready to leave. "If Lincoln comes home, call me immediately. Leni, you and Luna are in charge. Watch your younger sisters and make sure that Lori stays put until either I or your mother get home."

He went to the front door, Vanzilla's keys in his hand. His daughters clamored around him in an attempt to join him, save for Luna, who went into the kitchen to watch Lori. Lynn Sr. calmed his other children down, insisting that they remain at home while he went out. However, Lynn jr. stubbornly refused to do so.

"I can help, Dad! I can look for him on my bike!"

"You're going to stay here with your sisters."

"Please, Dad! I could've...I should've stopped Lori." the athlete admitted, clenching her fists. "I'm supposed to protect my little brother. But I failed. I let Lori hurt him."

"Don't say that." the older Lynn replied, kneeling down. "It isn't your fault that this happened. You shouldn't have to protect any of your siblings from each other."

"You can say that again." Lynn jr. mumbled, tossing a distasteful glance towards the kitchen. "But I really want to help look for Lincoln! Please?"

Lynn Sr. sighed, "Okay. I guess it couldn't hurt. But if you find him, you call me right away. Understood?"

Lynn jr. nodded and rushed upstairs to get her bike helmet and elbow and knee pads. She was then back down the stairs and out the door in a matter of seconds. Her father followed, encouraging the remaining sisters to keep an eye out for their brother. Once he was gone, the girls all spread out to the windows that were facing the street. The younger siblings went up into Lisa and Lily's room, leaving Leni and Luan downstairs, Leni holding Lily in her arms.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Luna was glaring daggers at Lori. The blonde was sulking in the corner, lamenting over her earlier actions. She kept seeing her brother as he fell, recalling what she had done and said prior to that event. But the thing that was haunting her the most was the way he had looked at her before he had run off.

-Loud House-

 _Shock had completely eradicated the blinding rage that had consumed her. Everything around her seemed to fade away, the only thing she could focus on being Lincoln lying on the floor at the base of the stair. The next few seconds passed by so slowly, they may as well have been hours. And when Lincoln began o lift up his head, the first thing that Lori noticed was the blood streaming out of his nostrils._

 _"Oh my gosh." She whispered, fear setting in as she now saw the consequences of her impulsive strike to her brother. "Lincoln!" She called out more audibly. "Lincoln, I...I didn't..."_

 _Her words reached the boy, quickly drawing his attention. But before Lori could complete her sentence, he was already out the door in a rush of fear-induced adrenaline. Lori had been able to see the fear in his eyes during the brief moment before he ran, when he had looked up at her. She didn't even have a chance to react to that when she was suddenly shoved by Lynn._

 _"That was really messed up Lori! What the hell is wrong with you?!"_

 _The athlete was clenching her teeth and her fists, a fiery anger in her eyes. And she wasn't alone. Lori could hear Luna and Leni saying their pieces now while Luan opened the front door and tried to spot where Lincoln had ran off to. The younger sisters were quickly at the side of either front, calling out for their brother or spitting harsh words at their eldest sister. The sounds of their voices blended together, making it nearly impossible for Lori to understand what any of them were saying. It was getting to the point where she was feeling both overwhelmed and intimidated. Luckily for her, there was little time for this to escalate before..._

 _"GIRLS!" Boomed the authoritative voice of their father, quickly silencing them all and gaining their attention. "What the heck is going on here?!"_

-Loud House-

After that Lynn jr. had called their father up the stairs to show him the wreckage that was now their brother's room. Then he was told of how she had, as Lynn put it, 'shoved him around before knocking him down the stairs'. It didn't require someone with Lisa's IQ to know what was coming next. The look on her father's face had told Lori that she was in deep trouble. And her current situation was only the beginning.

Lori's train of thought put her into a state of melancholy. Now that she had reflected on her actions, the tears began to flow and she sniffled pitifully. But Luna, the only one who heard her crying, had no pity for the blonde.

"Aw, what's the matter sis? Don't like it in the corner. Poor Lori." She spat venemously. "You deserve worse you uptight, control freak! I ought to break your nose like you did Linc's."

"I didn't break his nose! At least, I hope I didn't"

Luna scoffed. "Yeah right. You practically threw him down the stairs. And we all heard what you said to him before you did that. You have a lot of nerve, you know that sis?"

"I didn't mean it." Lori whispered. "I was just so angry."

"Ooh, big surprise. Lori was angry." Luna said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Maybe you should try getting that stick out of your butt. If it goes any further up there, it might start to poke you in the brain."

"Luna please just leave me alone!"

"NO! I'm done doing what you want. I heard what Linc called you earlier and you know what? He's right, Lori. You. Are. A. Bitch."

A shocked gasp came from the kitchen doorway. "Luna! Language, please!"

Leni stood in the threshold between the living room and the kitchen, frowning at her younger sister. She still held Lily in her arms, something that only added to her disapproval of her sister's language. Taking a few steps towards the rocker, she held Lily out to her.

"Please take Lily and go watch for Lincoln in the living room. I'll watch Lori."

"I'll be fine, sis. Lori doesn't scare me."

"That's not my point. I don't like how you're talking to her."

"You're _defending_ her?! Why?!"

"Because we don't need anyone making her angry again! Now please do what I asked."

Luna sighed and took Lily. "Okay, okay. But only because I respect you Leni. Too bad I can't say the same for my other big sister."

Satisfied with her jab at Lori's expense, Luna went into the living room. Leni waked over to Lori and placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. Lori turned her head to look at the other blonde and saw something that truly upset her.

Leni wasn't mad like Luna had been, nor was she sympathetic. The way that her sister was looking at her conveyed a very distinct and powerful message. Leni was both disgusted and ashamed of her. There was no doubt in Lori's mind that she had lost both the trust and respect of her sister, just like she had lost Luna's. The silence between them was uncomfortable for Lori, but she would have gladly taken it over what came next.

"I heard you and Dad earlier, before he left." She said, her voice eerily calm. "You never said 'I'm sorry' for what happened. But I bet you are sorry, aren't you? You should be. Lynn had a point. A big sister should protect her little brother. And you failed Lori. You failed as a big sister today. We both know that you were mad at me and you took it out on Lincoln. You hurt him and made him run away. So you had better be sorry. Because if you aren't, then I just can't see you as my big sister anymore."

Leni turned and walked away, returning to the doorway that led into the living room. She kept an eye on Lori while occassionally checking on her other siblings in the living room. Luan was pacing the floor, looking worried, and Luna stood by the window, gazing outside while holding a restless baby Lily in her arms.

Upstairs, the younger sisters diligently watched out for any sign of their big brother. The twins and Lisa were practically leaning out the open window, their three sets of eyes scanning the surrounding neighborhood. They had been in such a hurry that they had completely ignored the wreckage of their older brother's room. But Lucy,who had been the last of the four youngsters up the stairs, had halted immediately when she caught sight of it. Her eyes went wide behind her black bangs and she gasped silently.

"Poor big brother."

She stepped into the broken mess of her brother's belongings. The thought of how Lincoln must've felt when he saw this crossed her mind. And then to be so cruelly treated by the one responsible? It was too depressing,even for Lucy. Even if Lori hadn't attacked him, this alone was too much.

As she surveyed the devastation within the small room, another gasp escaped her. She picked up the severed head of Bun-Bun and looked around the floor for his body. She found it among some of Lincoln's torn up comic collection. To see the things that brought her beloved brother joy laying in pieces, it had a powerful affect on Lucy. She vowed right there and then that if the punishment Lori got from their mom and dad wasn't enough to teach her a lesson, then Lucy would personally teach her sister to regret the wrongs that she had commited.

Lucy vacated the scene of senseless destruction and returned downstairs. She joined her older sisters and Lily in the living room. Her siblings took notice of her as she approached, a rare occurance. But this wasn't the time for Lucy to indulge herself with fun and games. Everyone was upset over what had happened and now she had more grim news to share.

"Lori murdered Bun-Bun."

Luan and Luna gasped in shock, as did Leni who heard her from her place monitoring Lori. She cast Lori a dirty look and resisted the urge to tell her off again. Luna, however, wasn't so reserved.

"Wow, Lori, you sure you don't want to just rip our bro's heart out? Maybe kick him in the jewels a few times while you're at it?"

"Luna! That's enough!" Leni scolded. "I know you're mad with her. I am too. But we need to let mom and dad handle this."

"Fine. Whatever." the brunette replied, leaning back against the wall. "As long as Lori gets what's coming to her."

An uneasy silence came between the two sisters. Luan and Lucy could feel the tension in the air and were both grateful that it seemed unlikely to escalate. But both the silence and the tension were soon broken when Lana came bolting down the steps, stopping halfway and facing her sisters.

"They're back! They got Lincoln!"

All the girls, sans Lori, crowded around the living room window. Relief washed over them as they saw their brother. And Lun was especially glad to see someone else with them.

"Hey Lori." She called into the kitchen. "Mom's home too. And she looks _pissed._ "

End of chapter 2)

 **Okay, so as we wrap up the second part to the story I just want to take a couple moments to address future updates. At the moment, I have the outlines for the next two chapters all set and only need to write and edit them before posting. For now it is my goal to do weekly updates, but I don't want to promise anything. Should the cruel hand of fate sucker punch me, I will try to make note of how soon the next update will be in my profile. But I'm really gonna try to keep to a weekly update for this story, give or take a day or two. In the event I get stuck with writer's block, I will try to have a one-shot out instead just to provide something to anyone who is following me as an author. Hopefully if that is the case, it will suffice in the meantime.** **But for now I hope you enjoyed the new chapter, thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Again I am pleased with the reviews and favorites that this story has gotten. Let's hope that I can keep up with that. I now present**

 **Avoiding Estrangement Chapter 3)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own The Loud House. I make no money from this story.

The schoolyard was empty. Now that the long weekend had begun, everyone had left the vicinity. Lincoln didn't know why he was there. He had just wound up there after he had finally run out of breath and then begun to wander aimlessly around town. His nose had stopped bleeding and he had wiped the blood onto his shirt sleeve before it could dry. But the flow of tears had yet to stop. Because the pain was still there.

It wasn't the pain from the fall down the stairs, or the pain from when Lori had shut the door on his fingers. This was an emotional wound. A wound that was wide open and oozing. But unlike a flesh wound which oozed blood out, this one seemed to be oozing something into him; fear. And this fear sparked another negative feeling inside of him; doubt. Doubt in himself as both a human being and member of his family. It made him feel ill. It made him feel numb. It made his brain barrage itself with questions. And it just kept making the tears spill.

Lincoln took a seat on the steps leading to the school's front entrance. His thoughts were weighing him down and he just couldn't think straight at the moment. Taking a couple minutes to rest would hopefully help him clear his head. But he found that this did little to help him. He only ended up becoming lost in his thoughts, and losing track of time.

-Loud House-

Lynn jr. was running low on ideas of where to look. She had tried all of Lincoln's favorite places. But the comic shop, hobby store, arcade and park were all dead ends in her search. She had encountered some of Lincoln's friends, but none of them had seen him since school the day before. And she hadn't heard from her father at all, so that could rule out that Lincoln had run to see Clyde.

Letting her instincts guide her, Lynn found herself at Flip's Food & Fuel. She doubted she would find him there, but she refused to leave even a single stone unturned. After setting her bike on its kickstand by the door, she rushed inside and unfortunately didn't see her brother there either. There was only a couple of middle and high school students stocking up on soda and snacks. But maybe someone had seen him. It wouldn't hurt to ask. Unless you were asking Flip, in which case be ready to part with your money.

But before Lynn could approach the money grubber or any of the others in the store, another person came through the entrance. Lynn recognized her roller derby teammate and friend Polly Pain immediately. The girl had a sense of urgency about her which caught Lynn's attention.

"Lynn!" Polly called out, approaching her friend. "Glad I found you. Rusty said that you were trying to find your brother."

"Did you see him?" Lynn asked optimistically.

Polly nodded. "Yeah, a little while ago. He looked pretty down, and kinda beat up too. It also looked like he was crying. What happened? Is everything okay?"

"Not really, some messed up stuff happened to him earlier and he ran off. But I can explain later. Where did you see him?"

"At school. I would've gone over to talk to him, but...I'm not really good at emotionaly stuff. Besides, I kinda got the feeling that he had a lot on his mind. So I just left him alone. Then I got a call from Rusty and he asked me if I had seen him. He told me that you were looking for him. When I saw you on your bike I followed you here."

"How long ago did you see him?"

"I dunno...ten minutes maybe?"

"Then maybe he's still there!" Lynn said, feeling renewed hope. "Thanks Polly, I owe you one!"

Lynn gave her friend a quick hug and then ran back outside and hopped onto her bike. She sped off towards Lincoln's school, paying just enough attention to her surroundings to keep herself from being reckless. As she drew near the building, she could see someone sitting on the front steps. She knew it was him, the white hair was a dead giveaway. Relief washed over the athlete and she dismounted her bike and proceeded the rest of the way on foot.

"Lincoln!"

Her voice caught his attention, snapping him from his melancholic thoughts. He didn't move from his spot and looked back down at his feet as his sister approached. Lynn wasn't surprised to see that he was still upset and she couldn't blame him for it either. She couldn't imagine how he felt, or what was going through his mind. But it wasn't going to stop her from trying to help him feel better.

"Hey," She said, kneeling down next to him. "It's okay little bro. Dad took care of Lori, she won't do anything else to you. He's looking for you right now, like I was. I'll call him and he can come take us home, okay?"

Lincoln nodded, remaining silent. Lynn called their father and gave him the good news. He asked to speak with Lincoln briefly, but the boy hardly spoke back. And once the call had ended he returned to being completely quiet. Lynn sat next to him, not really sure what to do or to say. He was sitting perfectly still and being so quiet that it was starting to creep her out a little, as well as make her worry about him again. But fortunately he finally spoke up again after another minute of silence.

"Do you think she was right about me? All those things she called me, are they true?"

"What?! Are you joking?! I ought to punch you for saying something so stupid! But you've already been through enough today so I'll forget about it."

"But..."

"But nothing! What Lori said to you was a load of bullcrap and you're wrong to believe her. Now stop talking about it and come here. You need a hug."

Lynn pulled her younger brother in close and hugged him tight. Not as tight as she usually would, but enough to let him feel secure. She continued to hold him until their father arrived. With him was Mrs. Loud, who he had picked up from work after Lynn had called him. The two rushed over to their children and Lynn jr. moved aside so that they could have their turn hugging Lincoln.

"Oh, sweetie, there's dried blood on your face and your shirt! Rita exclaimed. "And your nose is looking a little swollen too! Does it hurt honey?"

"A little." Lincoln admitted quietly. "It stopped bleeding just a little while ago. But my fingers still hurt. Especially if I try to bend them."

He showed his parents the hand that Lori had slammed the door onto. The knuckles between his metacarpals and proximal phalanges were turning purplish and the skin had broken on all four fingers. The blood had started to dry on the index and pinkie, but it was still fresh on his middle and ring fingers.

"That doesn't look good." Lynn Sr. observed aloud. "Hang on, I'll get the first-aid kit out of the van."

As one can imagine, for a family as large as the Louds, a first-aid kit is an absolute necessity. And like Vanzilla, the first-aid kit it contained was a big, old and highly relied on piece of equipment. Inside of this mini-trunk was an assortment of everything that the parents of the thirteen member family could need. And it had proven to be a wise investment over their many years of child care.

Lynn Sr. retrieved a set of bandages for Lincoln's knuckles, as well as alcohol wipes and some antibiotic ointment to clean and treat his still open wounds. The boy winced as his father cleaned his fingers, but didn't complain. He was less worried about the stinging sensation he felt and still more concerned about what was waiting for him back at home. Even if he was safe from Lori, he still knew about the other problem: his room. The image of what he had seen was still fresh in his mind as well as what had occurred afterwards. To have to return to it, the thought made him want to cry all over again. He just couldn't understand how Lori could go so far. Unless...

"Does Lori hate me?"

Those four little words carried a big impact for the other Louds. It was a question that Rita and Lynn Sr. never would've wanted to hear and it only made them all the more upset with their oldest child. Lynn jr. shared that sentiment, her own anger bubbling up to the surface. She stood back up and turned to face her brother, barely able to keep herself from shouting.

"Lincoln, who cares what she thinks? I already told you once and I'll say it again. Everything she said to you earlier was a big, stinking pile of bull..." she trailed off, noticing the disapproving glances of her parents and quickly rethought her wording. "...-oney. Just a load of baloney and you'd be crazy to believe any of it. None of it's true. Even if she said it a million times, she would still be wrong. You are _not_ a mistake."

"She called him a _what_?!" Rita asked, anger entering her voice.

Lynn Sr. sighed. When he had called his wife he had left a vast majority of the details out. Not that it would matter how Rita found out the full story. She would still have been just as mad regardless. And since their daughter had already brought it up, it was only sensible to tell Rita the whole story just as he had heard it himself.

By the time he had finished, his wife was absolutely livid.

-Loud House-

It had taken a lot of will power for Lori to remain in the kitchen corner once she had heard Lana announce the return of their father, sister and brother. She had been worried about him ever since he had run off. Guilt was eating away at her insides and she wondered how he'd react to seeing her again after all she had done. But that feeling was quickly enough replaced with fear when she heard what Luna said next.

"Hey Lori. Mom's home too. And she looks _pissed._ "

Seconds later the front door opened and Rita Loud entered the house. Behind her came Lynn Sr. and then Lynn jr. and Lincoln. The other Loud children all gathered around, crowding Lincoln and overwhelming him with questions of concern. Lynn Sr. began ordering them to let him have some room. Rita however, was more interested in the only one of her children who wasn't currently with them in the living room.

"Lori Loud! Get your butt in here this instant!"

The very moment the command had been made, Lori scrambled from her place in the kitchen corner out into the living room. She stood before her glowering mother, hardly able to meet the older blonde's intimidating gaze. It also didn't help that the rest of the family was watching, some of them more eagerly than others.

"Do you expect me to apologize?" Rita asked flatly.

"W-What?" Lori asked in complete confusion. "You apologize?"

"Yes, me. Because apparently I did something wrong when I gave birth to your brother." Rita stated dryly. "That is what you said earlier, or did your sister and brother both lie to me when they told me that?"

Lori shook her head, too ashamed to admit it out loud. She was starting to feel more afraid of her mother and did not want to say anything that may further anger the woman. To anger her mother on any day would be like playing with fire. But at that moment, it would have been more like pouring gasoline onto an open flame.

Rita stepped up to Lori and took hold of the girl's ear. She tugged on it while pinching it firmly. Lori winced from the pain but didn't struggle. Although she did break eye contact with her mother.

"Look at me young lady." Rita ordered. "And let me make something perfectly clear. I do not consider your little brother, or any of my children for that matter, to be a 'mistake' that I need to apologize for. Regardless of anything any of you have ever done wrong, I would _never_ say that. Even after what you've done today, I wouldn't dare think of it. But I am _completely_ disappointed in you right now. And I haven't even seen what you've done to your brother's room yet. So let's head upstairs and see exactly how much damage you've done, shall we?"

Keeping Lori's ear in her grasp, Rita proceeded to go up the stairs with her daughter in tow. The rest of the children watched the scene with mixed reactions. Many of them were grateful not to be in their oldest sibling's position. They might have even pitied her if not for what she had done to Lincoln. Luna and Lynn however enjoyed seeing Lori receive what she had coming to her. The two brunettes watched smugly as Lori was taken away. This didn't go unnoticed by their father who turned to face them, a stern expression on his face.

"Do you two find something amusing about all of this? Because I certainly don't."

Both girls dropped their smiles and shook their heads. Lynn Sr. went to join his wife upstairs, making a mental note to speak with Luna and Lynn jr. later. Once he had reached the top of the steps he found Rita inside the scene of the crime with Lori. Rita turned to face him as she noticed him approach, a somber expression on her face.

"Well honey, it's just as bad as you described. But all the same it's still a shock. This is without a doubt the most damage done at once by any of the kids acting alone. What in the world were you thinking young lady?"

"I...I wasn't" Lori blurted out with a sob, tears once again escaping her eyes.

"Clearly." Rita flatly stated. "Well it's obvious that Lincoln can't stay here until further notice. So I think that it's only fair that you aren't allowed to have your room until then either, Lori."

"You're taking my room from me?" Lori asked in disbelief.

"Well what did you expect?" Rita replied. "You put a friggen' hole in the wall! I can see Mr. Grouse scowling at us from next door! We can't just yell at you and ground you when you've done something this bad! You crossed a line today Lori Loud and you will be punished properly for it. Now go up into the attic and bring down the air mattress that Pop-Pop sleeps on when he stays overnight. You'll be staying with your father and me in our bedroom until Lincoln has a room again. He'll be staying in your room for the time being."

Lori did as told and went up into the attic. She retrieved the mattress and brought it down into her parents bedroom to set it up. After which she was permitted to get a few changes of clothing to keep downstairs since she would no longer have access to her bedroom for the time being. And once she had finished setting up her temporary sleeping arrangements, Lori was put back into the corner, in the living room this time. Mr. and Mrs. Loud had the rest of their children sit down, telling them they needed to talk about what had happened.

"I'm not happy about what happened today for obvious reasons." Rita said to them, her voice still carrying her angry tone. "And to keep what happened today from happening again, there's going to be some changes in this house. Because I know one thing is certain. And that is that Lori isn't the only one to blame!"

 **End of Chapter 3)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so it took me a little while to figure out how to proceed with this chapter. It's a bit heavy on the dialogue and I always get pessimistic when I write something like that. So hopefully I'm just being paranoid and this will be up to the same standards that the previous chapters have set.**

 **Avoiding Estrangement Chapter 4)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Loud House and make no profit from this story.

It has been said that silence is golden. For the Loud House this was especially true. on any of the occasions when silence reigned it was sheer bliss for the neighbors of the large family. But currently the silence within the household was not only uneasy, but fragile as well. If Mrs. Loud chose the wrong words, she'd undoubtedly set loose a chaotic din that would prove beyond difficult to contend with. Her children were all watching her, including Lori who was looking over her shoulder.

"As far as I'm concerned, each of us has a share in the blame here. Even your father and I need to take responsibility for what happened. Perhaps we are just as much to blame as Lori."

"And as much as I don't like it, I agree." Lynn Sr. said, stepping forward. "Clearly we made a pretty big error in judgement. To be honest it makes me feel a little ashamed of myself as a father."

"And me as a mother." Rita added.

"What?! No!" Leni cut in. "You guys are awesome parents!"

"Yeah, don't apologize for what Lori did." Said Luna. "It's not your fault that she has issues."

"Actually, in a way it is our fault." Rita said insistantly. "As your parents its our job to teach all of our children how to behave as people. We need to make sure that each of you is prepared to go out into the world when you're old enough. Even if you don't leave right away. We need to know that you can take care of yourselves."

"And that means that you can handle conflict with others if you cannot avoid it in the first place." added Lynn Sr. "And for the most part, we thought that the best thing was to let you handle things on your own. But is seems that we may have been mistaken about that. From now on we'll both be playing a role in helping deal with any major arguments or other problems between you kids. At least until we know that you can be trusted to handle things on your own."

"But we _can_ handle things on our own!" Lynn jr. protested.

"I beg to differ." Her father replied. "Or am I the only one who recalls the 'chore-strike' incident? We came pretty close to having our house condemned. Do any of you know what that means?"

Lisa's hand shot up. "A condemned building is one that has been officially judged not safe for people to live in or to use."

Lynn Sr. nodded. "Bingo. And a house full of trash with no power or running water definitely qualifies. If the house had been condemned, we would have had to leave. I don't suppose that occurred to any of you, did it?"

The children exchanged nervous glances. That hadn't occurred to any of them at all. The uneasy silence returned while the Loud parents allowed their children to absorb that bit of information. Then Lynn Sr. retrieved a notepad and pen, already beginning to write something down."

"So your mother and I have decided that the 'Sister Fight Protocol' needs to be revised if not completely replaced with something better."

The girls all suddenly erupted into a cacophony of protests at that statement. All of them except for Lori, who knew she was in enough trouble already, tried to argue that what their father said wasn't necessary. They defended that their protocol worked 'just fine'. But neither of the two parental units wanted to hear it; their decision was final. And Lincoln was silently grateful for that. He had been thinking the same thing for a while now.

Once the girls had all said their piece and gotten it out of their systems, Mrs. Loud stepped forward. She held her hand out to Lincoln who took it compliantly. He was then situated between his parents who each placed a hand onto one of his shoulders.

"Tell me girls." Rita calmly stated. "Just how does your brother fit into the ' _Sister_ FIght Protocol'?"

There was another moment of uneasy silence. The girls were hesitant to respond to their mother's question. They knew the truth, that their brother didn't actually have a place in their protocol. And they knew that their mother and father knew that. Rita seemed satisfied with how uncomfortable they were getting over giving her an answer. It was good to see them acknowledging the problem, even if only in silence.

"I thought so." Rita continued. "And just how many of you were aware that Lori was going to go and hold up in Lincoln's room? Did any of you think of how he would feel about it?"

Again, the girls said nothing. They had known that Lori was going into their brother's room, but they hadn't taken his feelings into account. And it made them feel ashamed.

"So, it seems to me that ALL of you have a small share of the blame."

"Um...actually..." Lynn jr. began.

"Yes? Go on, speak up." Rita encouraged.

Lynn jr. stepped forward, rubbing her right arm with her left hand. She took a moment to prepare herself and then looked her mother in the eyes.

"I was the one who guarded Lincoln's room while Lori was in there. And I kept Lincoln from going in when he came upstairs. Also, I kicked in his bedroom door after I broke one end of the doorknob. That was an accident though. The doorknob, not the part where I kicked in the door. So I guess I'm more guilty than the others."

"A little bit, yes. But thank you for being honest. I don't plan on punishing the rest of you, not this time at least. So consider this the _only_ warning you'll get. I don't care who has issues with who. Leave your other siblings OUT OF IT. No excuses. And that means you too Lincoln. From now on you get either myself or your father and if we aren't home at the time, then just do your best to not get involved until one of us comes home, understood?"

The girls and Lincoln all nodded. They had no objections to their mother's initial changes to the protocol. Although even if they did, they suspected that she wouldn't have much interest in hearing them. They could only hope that the rest of the changes would be as easy to accept.

"Next," Rita continued. "Until the time comes for whoever is fighting to talk it out, there will be absolutely _NO_ taking bedrooms from each other! It doesn't matter if they share a bedroom with you to start with or if you're going to another's bedroom to cool off for a while, it's not going to happen! At least not without punishment."

"And on that note." Lynn Sr. cut in. "No more secluding yourselves in the bathroom or the kitchen either. It's unfair to everyone, especially since we all need to share the _one_ bathroom. We have an attic, a basement, and a garage too if you really need some alone time to deal with anything bothering you.

Also, whenever there are two or more of you having a fight, you can eat your meals seperately from the rest of the family. I'm not crazy about having to prepare two of every meal just because some of you aren't getting along for whatever reason. It's exhausting, not to mention hurting our grocery budget."

"Your father has a point. The two of us own this house and we pay for pretty much everything inside of it, including the food we all eat. And that means that we make the calls on how things are done here. If you don't like it, then that is just too bad. We're only doing what we believe is in your best interests. And we shouldn't have to change how we need to do things just because we wanted you kids to try and solve your own problems. We expect you to cooperate with us on this. I promise you can all trust the two of us to be fair with how we're going to handle things. We'll hear out all sides of the problem before deciding any punishments. And you're all going to listen to what the others have to say when it happens too. No interruptions of any kind will be tolerated. Is that clear?"

"Yes Mom." the Loud children chorused.

"Good. Now I say that we start with that right here and now. Lori, come here and stand next to me. Leni, you too."

The girls both took a place standing by their mother. At first Lori didn't understand why her younger sister was there when she was in trouble for what had occurred with Lincoln. But then she suddenly recalled that this whole mess began because she had gotten mad with Leni earlier that day. It had somehow completely slipped her mind. Everything that had happened since she had wrecked Lincoln's room and hurt him was weighing so heavily on her mind that anything prior to it was just absent. Until that moment, Lori hadn't thought of her sister or the reason that she had been so upset with her.

But now, it all came rushing back to her. Lori wasn't sure how to feel. But that may have been a good thing considering her current situation. Her mother wouldn't put up with it if she should become angry again, even if she did have good reason for it. She would just have to continue to do as told and see where things went from there.

"Now, I want the both of you to each tell us your side of the story. Your father and I want to know why you were fighting earlier and that's all we want to hear. We won't have anything to say until each of you has said your part, unless you interrupt each other or try to change the subject. As for your little sisters and brother, they won't be saying anything at all. They're only here to observe how things are going to be done from now on. Any future situations will just be me, your father and whoever is fighting.

And another thing. Above all else, it doesn't matter who we decide is right or wrong, we aren't playing favorites! We love you all equally and I expect you to remember that. If we say that someone is at fault, it's because that is just the way it is. Not because we value one of you over the other.

Now Lori, please start by telling us what happened with you and Leni. Then Leni will tell us her side of the story and either your father or myself will interupt if necessary. Any questions?"

Leni raised her hand. "Um, like, I have one!"

"Yes Leni?"

"Can we, like, ask each other questions? After we listen to what the other has to say, I mean."

"That's fine, just try not to let it cause any more fighting. So if you don't like the answer to your question, then that's that. Now if there aren't any other questions, we should start. Lori, go ahead."

Lori hesitantly stepped closer to her mother and swallowed the lump in her throat. She took a deep breath to calm herself and then began telling her side of the story. It was relatively short and simple; she had gone out to the mall that morning since there was no school that day. She had offered to bring Leni along, but the younger blonde had declined. Lori admitted that she was surprised by that, but she didn't think much of it. That is, not until she got home less than a couple hours later.

"Yeah, like, you got home sooner than I thought." Leni said.

Realizing her mistake, she quickly clapping her hands over her mouth afterwards. She then smiled sheepishly at her mother and apologized for interrupting.

"It's fine Leni." Mrs. Loud commented. "But please don't let it happen again. Lori, please continue."

Lori took her gaze off of her sister, who she had been glancing at somewhat accusingly. She found Leni's choice of words to be a bit suspicious, and she almost called her out for it too. But with both of their parents watching and listening so intently, she refrained from giving into the impulse. And if it was necessary, she could just bring it up later.

"As I was saying, I left the mall early because I ended up running into Carol Pingrey. We were in the same store, literally reaching for the same pair of shoes. She smiled at me and started acting like she's my friend or something. And then she starts insisting that it's okay for me to try the shoes first, saying that I would look better in them anyway. I just _know_ that she was being sarcastic and..."

"Lori, honey." Lynn Sr. cut in. "Sorry, but you're getting off topic."

"Oh, sorry. Anyway I came home and went straight upstairs. That's when I caught Leni and _my_ Boo-Boo Bear." Lori spitefully stated, clenching her teeth. "They were sitting on _her_ bed, giggling like crazy. Then Leni took a selfie with him and said that she wished she could post it on her Facepage. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I literally didn't want to believe it, but when I got their attention, they both looked suddenly guilty about something. And I mean really guilty. It was painfully obvious what was going on. My sister was stealing my boyfriend from me!"

Rita waited a moment to ensure that Lori had finished speaking. And when her daughter remained silent, Rita had her sit down beside her father. Next she had Leni take Lori's place as the center of attention, all eyes now on her.

"Alright Leni, it's your turn to tell your side of the story." Rita instructed. "What were you doing with Bobby earlier today?"

"Nothing! I swear that I wasn't trying to take him from Lori! I would never, ever do something like that!" the platinum blonde exclaimed earnestly. "And I could totes tell you what we were really doing, but...I kinda promised Bobby I wouldn't."

"And why is that?" Queried Mrs. Loud.

"It's supposed to be a secret. But...if it helps, I can call him and talk to him. He knows that Lori was, like, _super_ mad at us earlier. So he'd probably just want to talk to her about it anyway."

"Good idea Honey. You're making the right call." Lynn Sr. commented, smirking at his pun.

"I agree." Rita added. "We should definitely have Bobby tell his side as well since he was involved."

"I'm literally on it." Said Lori, pulling out her cellphone. "I'll put him on speakerphone once he answers."

"Actually, I'll do that, young lady." Rita insisted, holding out her hand. "I nearly forgot to mention that you won't be allowed to use your phone until you're allowed to have your room back."

"Yeah...okay." Lori sighed in defeat, relinquishing the device to her mother. "Is there anything else about my punishment that I need to know?"

"Yes, but we'll discuss that afterwards. For now let's focus on resolving this problem first."

Rita opened Lori's contact list and called Bobby's number. He answered almost immediately and began to hastily speak. Many of his words blended together, making it nearly impossible for the woman to understand him.

"Bobby...Bobby! Calm down!...Thank you. I know you're eager to explain yourself to Lori, and you'll get the chance. I'm going to put you on speaker now so both you and Leni can tell her together."

Rita put Bobby on speaker and stood between her two oldest daughters, holding out Lori's phone. She signaled to the rest of the family to remain silent, receivning a group nod from them in response.

"Alright. Bobby, Leni, go ahead. Tell Lori what the two of you were up to earlier today."

 _[Alright, I'll start.]_ Bobby's voice stated over the phone. _[I don't want to give all of the details though. But only because I really don't want to ruin the surprise for Lori. At least not completely. So Leni? Please don't show her anything we've done yet. We're just going to tell her. Okay?]_

"Like, okay. I would've shown it to her only if you said to anyway."

 _[Thanks Leni. Babe, I know that the prom is still a ways away, but I wanted to do something special for you. So I asked Leni to help me with this really awesome idea that I had. Any girl can go and find a prom dress in a store, and I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with that. But how would you like to have a special, one-of-a-kind dress, made specifically just for you?]_

"No way." Lori said, her eyes lighting up. "You didn't!"

 _[Not yet Babe. But we will. A friend of mine came up with the design, I paid for all of the fabric and Leni is going to put the whole thing together. And when it's done, it's going to be as amazing as you are.]_

"Oh, Bobby Boo-Boo Bear!" Lori swooned. "If you were here right now I would literally give you the biggest hug ever!"

 _[You still can. But it's gonna have to wait until later. I'm going to work in a bit. So, does that mean that we're still on for dinner tomorrow night?]_

"Definitely!" Lori exclaimed.

Rita Loud cleared her throat, gaining Lori's attention. She frowned at her daughter and slowly shook her head. Lori suddenly recalled that she was still in trouble. She smiled sheepishly at her mother and then returned her attention to her boyfriend.

"Actually Bobby, I'm afraid we'll have to reschedule dinner."

 _[What? But why? I thought you weren't mad at me anymore!]_

"Boo-Boo Bear, I'm not mad. But I am in trouble with my parents right now."

 _[Why? Because you flipped out at me and Leni?]_

"Not exactly, although it is sorta related to that." Lori admitted. "Do you have a minute? I can explain everything."

 **End of Chapter 4.**

 **And another chapter is done. Just a quick note on the changes to the 'Sister Fight Protocol' I had them make. As stated before, the parents used zero authority in that episode and honestly that was what bugged me the most. Sure, letting your kids solve their own issues with each other is important, but there's still a line for crying out Loud! Parents should know when to step in and take control of things otherwise we get "Brawl in the Family". So that's what I wanted to do with this chapter, show the parents being actual parents during a situation where their kids have gone too far. But I'm not saying my ideas are perfect. Honest opinions and constructive criticisms are always welcome.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so apologies for the delay with this chapter. It turned out to be a little longer than the previous ones so I needed more time to finish and edit it. I also used some of my usual writing time to assist with a collab for the 'Pity Party' story that was posted a while ago. Lastly, I have a one-shot featuring Lisa planned that I hope to have up by next week. This may mean that the next chapter for this story will be a little delayed as well. But for now, here is...**

 **Avoiding Estrangement Chapter 5)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Loud house and make no money from this story.

Lori stood quietly, her eyes locked onto her phone. She had just told Bobby about her earlier actions after he had been seen with Leni and Lori yelled at them. Everything from when she had locked herself in Lincoln's room right up until he had run, terrified, out the front door. And now she nervously awaited for him to react to what he had heard. For him to say something, even if she didn't like what he said. Anything would be better than more silence.

 _[Whoa,]_ the teenage boy finally said. _[That's...that's a lot to take in. But Lincoln is okay, right? He's not going to need to go to the hospital or anything?]_

"He'll be fine Bobby." Mrs. Loud answered. "It was just a bloody nose and his knuckles will be all healed up soon enough. But thank you for your concern."

 _[That's good to hear. And if it's alright, maybe I can stop by tomorrow and pick him up so we can hit the arcade for a little bit.]_

"That sounds like a great idea, doesn't it Lincoln?" Rita said.

"Uh, yeah. I'd be up for that." Lincoln said, the corner of his mouth curving upwards a little.

 _[Sounds like a plan little man. I'll bring Ronnie-Anne along and Clydesdale too. We'll have some pizza, play games for a couple hours and then grab some ice cream. My treat.]_

"Okay!" Lincoln replied, starting to feel his spirits lift up. "When will we be going?"

 _[How about tomorrow at one o'clock? I get out of work at noon, but I'll want to shower and change really quick. I'll go get Clyde and then come to get you.]_

"Sure. Or I can call Clyde and he can come over so you don't have to make the extra stop."

 _[Yeah, that works too. I'll see you tomorrow bro. And Lori?]_

"Yes Boo-Boo Bear?" the blonde asked, feeling nervous again.

 _[Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm kinda glad that we won't be able to see each other for a while. I'm going to need time to think about...all of this. We can talk about it when we go back to school on Monday, okay?]_

"Okay." Lori shakily agreed, her heart sinking. "I understand. I'll see you later."

 _[Yeah...later.]_

Bobby hung up, the sudden sound of the call ending piercing Lori's heart. It had been a very long time since either of them had ended a call without saying 'I love you' to one another. She had been tempted to say so, but she was afraid of how he would respond. He hadn't sounded angry, but he was obviously not happy about what was going on either. And it was filling Lori with dread to think of how it would go the next time they saw each other. She felt bad enough as it was for getting so mad at him earlier, and for what turned out to be nothing at all too.

Lori tensed up, something clicking within the confines of her mind. Her eyes widened and she gasped silently as fresh tears began to stream from her eyes. She felt her knees go weak and she sank down into a kneeling position.

"Oh my gosh." She whimpered out. "Oh my gosh. I...I..."

"Lori! What's wrong?" Leni asked with concern.

"I just realized something. If I had just listened to you and Bobby earlier, then I wouldn't have gotten so angry. Then I wouldn't have gone and shut myself inside of Lincoln's bedroom. And if I hadn't done that, then...then I...I wouldn't have..."

"You wouldn't have gotten mad at him either." Rita continued. "Which means that you could have avoided hurting him, not to mention the damage to his room. And then we wouldn't be here right now."

Lori nodded pitifully, trying to choke back a sob. She failed and let loose a loud wail. Guilt crashed over her like violent waves produced by a fierce storm. Bile raised itself up in her throat, but she suppressed the urge to vomit. From that point forward she managed to calm herself down a little, but she couldn't get the tears to stop.

"Lincoln." the upset blonde gasped out after another sob. "I am so, so sorry!"

"Took her long enough." Lynn jr. muttered.

Lincoln got up and stepped closer to Lori. His sister looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something. He could see uncertainty in her eyes and could tell that she was scared. Just seeing that helped him set his own fears of his eldest sibling aside and allowed him to face her with more confidence.

"I can forgive you Lori."

"What?!" Luna exclaimed.

"What?!" Lynn jr. simultaneously agreed.

Luna and Lynn jr. leaped up onto their feet. The two brunette teens looked at their brother incredulously. They then stepped between him and Lori, completely cutting her off from his field of vision.

"Dude! How can you say that after what she did?"

"Luna's got a point Lincoln. She hurt you and you're lucky that it wasn't worse than it was!"

"Enough!" Lincoln said. "I appreciate your concern. But I know what I'm doing! And Mom and Dad made it pretty clear earlier that everyone else is supposed to stay out of this. Besides, I wasn't finished anyway. I _can_ forgive Lori, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to forgive her right now."

"I understand." Lori said, her voice hardly above a whisper.

"Do you?" Lincoln asked, pushing past his other older sisters in order to stand in front of her again. "Do you really understand Lori?"

Lincoln's harsh tone would normally not have been permitted by the oldest Loud child. But considering how she felt that she deserved it, Lori didn't object to it. It was only fair that Lincoln got to tell her off after what she had put him through. And maybe once he got it off his chest, he would be more willing to accept her apology. Or at least she hoped that would be the case.

"I'll take that as a 'no'." Lincoln said in regard to his older sister's silence. "So let me ask you this now. Would you be sorry if you hadn't hurt me earlier? What about if Mom and Dad were, for whatever reason, not going to punish you? Would you still be sorry?"

"I would! I swear that I would be sorry for what I did!"

"But you probably wouldn't have been sorry so soon. Right?"

"I...I don't know." Lori admitted, feeling ashamed.

"Well, then I'm going to need time to think. So give me some space and I'll let you have yours too. Then when I'm ready to talk to you about this again, I'll let you know. Okay?"

Lori only nodded in response. Lincoln then asked to be excused. Rita and Lynn Sr. allowed it since they had covered what needed to be done. Lincoln then went down into the basement. He hoped to find some of his clothes down with the laundry. He believed that there had was bound to be something down there. It wouldn't hurt to look.

Once Lincoln had left, the other Loud children were dismissed as well. All except for Lori as well as both Luna and Lynn jr. Their father led them into the dining room and left Lori and Rita alone. The matriarch heard her husband begin to talk to the other two girls about the outburst they had made, as well as the attitude they had when they say Lori being scolded earlier.

"So, what now?" Lori asked her mother.

"Once your father is finished talking to your sisters, you can help him with the yard work that he still needs to finish. Then you can help him with dinner. You'll do the dishes after we've eaten and then you can do a few other chores before going to bed. But before any of that, you can go up to your brother's room and board up that hole in the wall and put all of his ruined things into trash bags. Understood?"

"Yes Ma'am."

Lori went into the kitchen and retrieved a few trash bags. She then went upstairs and began to clean up the mess caused by her heinous actions. With each handful that she stuffed into the trash bags, she began to feel an increasing amount of regret. If any of her siblings had done something like this in her room, she'd have been relentless in exacting revenge. But to see it as the result of her own actions was humbling. It was enough to make her wonder if she really knew herself.

However, before she could venture any further with her self contemplation, she was interrupted by her father. He had brought up a hammer, nails and a few wooden boards for her to use to cover up the hole that she had made in the wall. Lori accepted them and set aside her current project momentarily. Aside of hitting her finger once with the hammer, Lori had little trouble patching up the hole and then finishing with the rest of the mess.

From there Lori went outside to assist her father with the yard work. The sun slowly drifted down as Lori trimmed the bushes, picked up all of the trimmings and then pulled all of the weeds growing up against the house and the garage. She could have used the weed-wacker, but her father said 'no' to that idea. She needed to learn a lesson after all, and making a chore slightly more difficult and/or tedious was a good way to accomplish that. Lori understood her father's reasoning. But even if she hadn't, she would've gotten the idea easily enough.

After what felt like hours later, Lori finally finished her task and reentered the house with sore and dirty hands. She wasn't granted even a moment to rest though as her father had her wash her hands so she could assist him with dinner next. Compared to the yard work, it was fairly simple. Lori only had to follow the instructions that her father gave to her. It was eating dinner that proved to be the problem. For Lori it was horribly awkward, as well as uncomfortable. If not for the fact that Luna would occasionally glare at her, none of her siblings bothered to look in her direction. Although in Lily's defense, she was far too preoccupied playing with her mashed potatoes.

Once dinner was over, Lori was left to clear the table and then wash the dishes. She set the plates, cups and silverware into the sink and then went to get the serving tray that was still sitting on the dinning room table. As she went to retrieve it, she passed Luna who was on her way into the kitchen. The rocker gave her another cold glare, but other than that she only continued on her way towards the fridge. Lori thought she heard Luna mutter something, but chose not to bother asking. Considering how Luna had been acting, Lori didn't want to deal with her at the moment.

"Hey Lori." Came a sweet and chipper voice.

Leni however was a welcome ray of sunshine. She was the only one of her sisters who didn't seem interested in sending her on a guilt trip. At least not since they had cleared up the misunderstanding between them just a short while ago. She had even taken the seat next to Lori at the dinner table, although like the otehrs she had paid little attention to the other blonde.

"Hi Leni." Lori said back, forcing a small smile.

"Do you, like, want some help cleaning up?"

Lori froze for a moment, a genuine smile coming to her face. Sometimes she just couldn't believe how kind and forgiving Leni could be. It was enough to make Lori worry about the girl. But for the moment she was just grateful that there was at least one person who wasn't avoiding her, or looking down at her, or who was disappointed in her. Or...who may not ever see her as his big sister again.

Lori quickly banished that thought from her mind. Even if Lincoln didn't see her as his big sister, it didn't mean that she couldn't fix things. And moping about it wouldn't accomplish anything useful. She was going to fix this and she'd start by following through with her punishment.

"Thanks, but I really should do this by myself. But if you want to do something for me, please give Lincoln a big hug, okay?"

A short yet sarcastic laugh sounded from behind Lori, startling her a little. She turned to see Luna, holding a can of root beer in one hand and wearing a cold scowl on her face. She stepped up to Lori and glared into the other girl's eyes.

"If you think that our bro wants _anything_ to do with you anymore, then you're as stupid as you are heartless. So just stay away from him, got it?"

Luna then stepped past Lori, clipping her elbow against the blonde harshly. The motion occurred so suddenly that Lori stumbled over a step. Luna smirked, satisfied with what she had done. As she continued walking, she muttered again. Only this time Lori heard her clearly. It was just one word.

"Bitch."

Lori started to feel angry again. Luna was trying to get under her skin. And it was working too. She was so very tempted to tell the short haired girl off. To raise her voice to her and let her have it. But she contained her anger. She wasn't going to let Luna have her way, but that didn't mean that she had to lose her temper.

However, before Lori could do anything, Leni stepped over to their younger sister. She grabbed Luna's arm and stopped her from going another step. And when Luna turned to face her, Leni gave her younger sister a stern look that could easily rival her mother's.

"I heard that Luna! Apologize now!"

"Why should I?" Luna asked, pulling her arm free.

"Good question." Leni said. "Maybe we should ask Mom and Dad."

Luna's eyes narrowed at her sister. "Fine. I'm sorry,okay?"

"That's better. But don't do it again. Lori is being punished and we need to leave it to Mom and Dad. So if you do it again, I'm just gonna go straight to them. Got it?"

"Yeah, whatever dude."

Luna left the two blondes behind and went up to her room. Once she was out of sight, Leni turned around and approached Lori again. Lori smiled at her and returned to her earlier task of retrieving the serving tray from the table.

"Thanks Leni, you didn't have to do that. I could have handled it."

"Like, I know. But she was being mean to you and I didn't like it. You're already being punished, so what's the point?"

"She's mad at me. Not that I can blame her. But you're right. It won't fix what I did today."

"Well, duh. That's up to you now." Leni said, giving her big sister a hug. "And I know you can do it. I believe in you, Lori."

"Thanks. Again. You're the best Leni." Lori said, returning the hug with tears in her eyes. "Now I have to get back to my chores. But make sure to give Lincoln that hug, okay?"

Leni nodded and agreed to Lori's request. She left her sister to do her chore and went upstairs to her bedroom. Inside she found Lincoln, wearing a pair of his pajamas and neatly folding a small stack of other clothes that had been downstairs in the dryer. He looked up at her briefly, offering a quiet 'Hi Leni' in greeting. Then he returned to folding his clothes.

"Hey Lincoln." Leni said. "How are you doing? Feeling any better?"

"I guess." he sighed. "It's good to know that some of my stuff escaped Lori's wrath. Is there anyplace I should put there? Or is anywhere fine?"

"Yeah, like, anywhere is okay."

"Okay, thanks."

Lincoln set his clothes down on top of the desk where Leni kept her sewing machine. A knock sounded at the doorway, followed by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Leni and Lincoln turned to the source and found Lisa at the doorway, little Lily with her.

"Greetings elder brother, elder sister. I hope that you'll pardon the intrusion. If it isn't an inconvenience, I'd like to speak with you Lincoln."

"Oh, sure. What's up?"

"I notice that you still seem somewhat disheartened. Which is more than understandable considering the events that transpired today. So I've brought Lily over to assist with alleviating your despondent disposition. After all, the affection on an infant can be quite uplifting."

"Huh?" Lincoln stated, tilting his head slightly.

"I brought Lily over to give you a hug so you'll feel better." Lisa elaborated. "And...I would like to contribute as well."

Lisa approached Lincoln along with Lily and the two youngest siblings embraced their big brother. Lincoln returned the hug, beginning to feel a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Then a sudden new pair of arms embraced him from behind.

"Count me in." Came the monotone voice of Lucy.

"Us too!" Came a new pair of voices.

The twins rushed into the room and squeezed into the growing group hug. Leni almost joined in, but found the scene too cute and couldn't resist the urge to take a photo. She was just able to get a great shot before the hug ended. Next she posted it immediately before returning her attention to her younger siblings. She pulled Lincoln into a hug, squeezing him tight.

"And here's one from your big sister, who loves you lots!" She said, refraining from telling him that the hug was on Lori's behalf.

"Thanks. You guys are the best. Did you plan that out?"

"Actually, I was just as surprised as you when the others joined us." Lisa said.

"I was on my way over to check on you." Lucy said. "And I wanted to make you feel better too."

"Same here!" Lola chimed in.

"I was actually on my way to the bathroom. I have to drop a deuce." Lana said, earning and elbow in the ribs from Lola. "Uh...I mean, I was worried about you too big brother!"

Lincoln smiled at his sisters. "Thanks again. I'm feeling better now. A lot better."

"Well then, I say let's continue to improve your mood." Lisa said, pulling out a deck of cards. "Is anyone here interested in having their keisters handed to them?"

"We'll see about that!" Lincoln said with a confident smirk. "I'll shuffle."

Lincoln took the cards from Lisa, taking a seat on the floor. His sisters joined him, Lily settling down in his lap and sucking her thumb. He shuffled and dealt the cards, initiating their game. And as the time passed, Lincoln found himself having so much fun that his earlier sorrows seemed to vanish altogether. The joy it gave him was short lived, but it made falling asleep that night much less of a burden than it would have been otherwise.

End of Chapter 5)


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, I am pleased to see that this story has achieved 100 followers! And nearly as many reviews and a good number of favorites too! I just want to take a moment to acknowledge how much I appreciate the support that this story has gotten. It's readers such as yourselves that make this non-profit hobby feel so worthwhile. Let's see if I can keep things going in the right direction as I present...**

 **Avoiding Estrangement Chapter 6)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Loud House and make no money from this story.

The end of the day couldn't have come soon enough for Lori. In addition to washing the dishes, she had been required to sweep and wash the kitchen floor, vacuum the living and dining rooms and then clean the entire bathroom. And tomorrow she was expected to do more chores, including cleaning Vanzilla inside and out, cleaning the gutters and assisting her mother with various errands. She could only imagine what else was in store for her over the weekend.

Lori reached for her pocket, trying to retrieve her cellphone. For a moment she was surprised to find it missing, but quickly recalled that she wasn't permitted to have it for who knew how long. She'd just have to check the time the old fashioned way and look at a clock.

She exited the bathroom and nearly went into her bedroom. But again she reminded herself that she was being punished and that she was banned from her own room. At least until the damage to Lincoln's room was fixed and his furniture replaced.

A noise caught Lori's attention. It was the sound of laughter, and it was coming from inside of her...from inside of Leni and Lincoln's bedroom. She carefully opened the door and took a peek. What she saw inside made her forget all about how tired and crummy she felt.

Lincoln was smiling. And laughing. He was playing cards with all of his younger sisters and clearly having fun. He was happy, and seeing that helped Lori to feel a little better after everything she had done that day. But she knew that his joy would be short lived. By tomorrow he'd still be upset with her and depressed about all of his possessions being gone. And she was to blame for that.

But there was little point in dwelling on that fact. If she wanted to fix things with him, then she would have to focus on moving forward. She had a lot of ground to cover if she was going to reach him and it would be best to start sooner than later. She silently vowed to herself that first thing in the morning she would start doing whatever she could to atone for her malicious actions on her brother.

With a sense of determination now fueling her, Lori turned away from the bedroom so she could head down to her parents' bedroom. It was still a little early for bed, but she'd need her rest for tomorrow. And maybe she could talk to her parents about how she could make things up to Lincoln. Surely they'd be willing to make a few suggestions if she herself couldn't think of anything other than a few ideas that she already had.

 _'No matter what, I will fix this!'_ she thought, feeling her resolve strengthening.

As she went to descend the stairs, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. Luna, who was sitting inside of her room on a beanbag chair, was glaring daggers at her yet again. Lori paused and met her younger sister's gaze. Luna's eyes narrowed and she sat up, crossing her arms. It was unsettling for Lori to see Luna looking so cross. The rocker was usually so laid back and understanding. To see her scowling and glaring like that made Lori's earlier crummy feeling return full force.

 _'It looks like Lincoln isn't the only one who I need to fix things with.'_

Once again feeling the weight of guilt on her shoulders, Lori descended the stairs and walked to the door to her parents' bedroom. It was closed, so she knocked on it just in case her parents were having a private conversation. She heard her mother from the other side of the door, granting her permission to enter.

"I finished all of the chores you told me to do." Lori said as she entered the room.

"Good." her mother said. "And just in time too. There's someone here who has something to say to you."

It was at that moment that Lori realized that her younger sister Lynn was also in the room. She was seated on the side of the bed, next to Lynn Sr. The athlete looked over at Lori and then quickly averted her eyes. Their father got up and had Lori take his place next to her sister. Then he and Rita left the room, giving them space to let them talk.

"We're leaving the door open a crack and we'll be just outside of the room. So keep that in mind, both of you." Rita warned.

"Okay mom." Lynn jr. replied.

"This is about Lincoln, isn't it?" Lori asked after their parents had stepped out. "You were pretty mad at me earlier, when I hurt him. I don't blame you for it. I deserve to have everyone upset with me."

"Your darn right you do!" Lynn spat. "I just want to scream at you right now! I want to yell at you like you did to Lincoln earlier! And I would too, if Mom and Dad hadn't already talked to me about it! Not that it matters. It's not like biting your head off would change anything. It wouldn't make Lincoln feel better, that's for sure."

"I know. I literally wish it could be that easy."

Lynn scoffed. "Yeah, you would want the easy way out, wouldn't you?"

"That isn't fair, Lynn!" Lori said defensively. "He's my brother too you know! I don't like seeing him hurt anymore than you do! And the face that I'm the one who hurt him only makes me feel worse."

"Okay, you have a good point." Lynn replied. "But here's mine. Lincoln isn't just a little brother to me. He's been around since I was really little. We grew up together. We're _still_ growing up together. We used to take baths together, go to the park and play in the sandbox together and watch Blarney the Dinosaur together when we were little. We've trick-or-treated together, hunted Easter eggs together and stayed up late together on Christmas Eve to try and see Santa."

Lynn then paused for a moment, a small smile coming to her lips. "Lincoln was my first friend. He's been there for me on rainy days when I couldn't go outside to play. He doesn't hesitate to ask what's wrong when I'm upset and he wants to help me when I have a problem, without asking for anything in return. And if he screws up, he always tries to make up for it or at least he says he's sorry. Which is something that I really admire about him."

"Sheesh." Lori said. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you have a crush on him."

"Please don't make this weird, Lori." Lynn said flattly. "But you get my point. Lincoln might be a wimp, and a dork, but he's the most amazing, wimpy dork I know. And it took what happened earlier to help me realize that. When you hurt him, when he fell down the stairs, I got really scared. I thought that he had been hurt a lot worse...I thought that I had lost my only brother."

"You aren't the only one." Lori whispered. "I was really scared too. It was literally the scariest thing I've ever seen. For a moment, I didn't know if he was going to get up again after he hit the floor. I'd give anything to go back and stop myself from doing it. All of it. But that's not going to happen. The only thing I can do is try my best to fix things."

"Yeah, you do that. But let me just say one more thing." Lynn said, hopping onto her feet and turning to face Lori. "If you _ever_ hurt Lincoln, or any of our other siblings, like that again, I'll kick your butt!"

Lori stared at her younger sibling in surprise. Lynn was standing in front of her with her right fist held up to emphasize her threat. The blonde smiled, and then she laughed, making Lynn stare at her questioningly. Lori quickly stifled herself and then stood up to face her younger sister.

"Oh, please. You and I both know who could kick who's butt. But...if I ever do hurt anyone in our family like that again, I would literally deserve it. So you could have as many free shots as you want."

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Lori! I mean it! Pull another stunt like you did today and my foot is going to get up close and personal with your butt!"

"I heard you the first time." Lori said, "And don't worry about it. I definitely don't want to repeat what happened today. And I'm sorry for the way I treated you earlier too."

Lori extended her arms, offering her sister a hug. Lynn considered the offer for a moment, but didn't accept. She crossed her arms and looked up at Lori in a somewhat aloof manner.

"Sorry, but I'm not quite ready for hugs from you yet. I'm with Lincoln on this one. I can forgive you, just not so soon, okay?"

"...okay." Lori said, lowering her arms.

Lynn then left the room, offering an unenthusiastic 'later' in farewell. Lori went to the air mattress where she was expected to sleep and laid down. She heard her parents reenter the room, her mother taking a seat next to her after a moment. Lori turned over a little to face the older woman, who was looking down at her expectantly.

"So, do you have any ideas yet? You were thinking of ways to make things right with your brother like I asked, right?"

"Uh-huh. I haven't thought up too much yet. Just stuff like making him breakfast and giving him rides. Am I still allowed to borrow Vanzilla?"

"Only if you're bringing your siblings to school or someplace else. No using it for your own personal wants and needs for a while."

Lori sighed. It wasn't a surprise to her that her driving privileges were also now revoked, save for a few exceptions. But she could live with that. Giving Lincoln free rides was just one idea. She had another in mind that was more likely to fix things, although it would be asking a bit much from her parents. And it was a subject that she had already brought up before with her mother. Hopefully the current circumstances would make things turn out differently this time.

"Mom? There's something else. But it might be a lot to ask for."

"Oh? And just what is it that you have in mind?"

"I...I need a credit card!" Lori blurted out.

The moment she had voiced her request, her father burst out laughing. He was laughing so hard that he nearly lost his balance. It wasn't until he noticed the dirty look that his wife was giving him that he stopped.

"Wait. She's being serious?" he asked incredulously.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Rita said. "And it isn't the first time she's asked this either. Which raised the question, what makes you think you'll be getting one this time?"

"Well how else am I going to replace all of Lincoln's stuff? It would literally take forever to save enough money from my job!"

Rita smiled sympathetically at her child. "I'm happy that you're so willing to make amends, but I don't think that you fully understand what you'd be getting yourself into. A credit card is a big responsibility. And if you're not careful, you could find yourself owing a lot of money. But why don't we discuss this more tomorrow? We'll have plenty of time while you help me with running errands."

Lori nodded, feeling a little better now that it seemed her mother wasn't so angry with her anymore. She sat up and hugged her mother, apologizing again for all of the trouble that she had caused. Her mother kissed her forehead and stood up, going over to her own bed to continue reading her book club's current romance novel. Lori settled back down and returned to thinking on how she could make reparations. With luck, and plenty of effort on her part, she could achieve that goal with Lincoln. And Luna too.

It had bothered Lori immensely to see how angry her younger sister was with her. At least Lincoln was willing to, eventually, forgive her. But she was left wondering if the same could be said for Luna. Lori was worried that her sister was now carrying a serious grudge against her for what she had done. But it was understandable. Lori knew that she would be doing the same if she were in Luna's place.

Another heavy sigh silently passed Lori's lips and she turned over on the mattress. She was tired but far from ready for sleep. Aside of the face that she had yet to change into her sleepwear, she also hadn't performed any of her other usual pre-bedtime rituals. She was going to have to wait a little bit since it would be best to let all of her siblings use the bathroom first.

It was surprisingly saddening to Lori. She knew that all of her sisters and brother would be crowded into the bathroom, brushing their teeth and washing their faces. Tonight, for the first time in a long time, she wouldn't get to participate in that. squeezing into the small space, just barely big enough to accommodate them all, usually seemed so insignificant as it was a daily occurrence. But she missed being a part of it. She missed it a lot. And it was just one of many instances that she would temporarily not get to share with all of her siblings. It was enough to make her want to cry again.

Lori tried to get her mind off of that awful train of thought. But it persisted, regardless of her efforts. That night, she laid restlessly for the first couple of hours after she had finally gotten to use the bathroom and brush her teeth. But she was able to fall asleep eventually and get some much needed rest. The next couple of days until school started again were going to be long ones for her.

End of Chapter 6)


	7. Chapter 7

**Apologies for the wait on this chapter. Writer's block can be a real nuisance sometimes. Plus I spent a chunk of time on my other story, Beating the Blues this week too. The next chapter shouldn't take as long to post, but for now please enjoy...**

 **Avoiding Estrangement Chapter 7)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Loud House and make no money from this story.

A Saturday morning in the Loud House without lots of noise and chaos was a Saturday when the Louds weren't at home. Or one where they had fallen ill. But under normal circumstances, the quiet of the morning rarely lasted past seven before being shattered like cheap glass. The din of the Loud children as they began to enjoy the day quickly filled the home and could be heard by the neighbors. And it was to this same cacophony that Lori Loud awoke.

It was the twins that she heard first. The two precocious blondes were arguing over which Saturday morning cartoons to watch. This was accompanied by the sound of Lily crying, most likely due to the twins accidentally making the baby girl drop her bottle or a toy that she had been playing with. Lori's sisterly instincts kicked in and she got up to go and solve the problem.

With a stretch and yawn, Lori stood and went to the door. And once she opened it, the noise immediately ceased. Suddenly all eyes were on her. It was only the twins, Lily and Luan in the living room, but it was still eerie to see them all frozen in place, staring at her as though she were an elephant in the room.

Lori did her best to pay no mind to her other sisters. It was Lily who she was concerned with. The baby girl was no longer crying, due both to Luan cradling her in her arms and a pacifier in her mouth. But all the same, Lori wanted to be sure. She approached her younger sisters and looked down at Lily.

"What's wrong, Lily?" Lori cooed, "Did your silly big sisters upset you?"

"She's fine." Luan said. "I think she just needs to be changed. I'll take care of it."

Luan hurried off with Lily to the baby's room so she could change her diaper. Lori found it suspicious since Lily almost never cried over a wet or soiled diaper. Plus Luan seemed to be in quite a hurry too. It was almost like she was looking for an excuse to leave. And Lori had a fairly good idea as to why.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Lori went back into her parents' bedroom. The moment she closed the door she heard the twins instantly resume their argument over what to watch. It would have made Lori laugh any other day, but at that moment she just wasn't able to. She could already tell that her day was going to be rough, at least when it came to interacting with her siblings if nothing else. With any luck, she would be able to keep busy enough with chores to make the day just fly by and then she could go back to bed.

The thought of being back in bed became very tempting to her. She could just curl up beneath the blanket, close her eyes and let sleep take her back into its sweet embrace. However, she knew better than to give into that desire when she already had a full day ahead of her. If anything, she should be preparing for it instead. She only wished that a nice, hot shower could help wash away all of her troubles as easily as it could take care of sweat and dirt.

Lori went over to the stack of clothing she had set on top of her mother's dresser and selected her clothes for the day. She would get changed after her shower, which she planned to take while everyone else was enjoying breakfast. After how dinner went the preceding night she felt it would be best to eat any meals separately from her siblings. At least until this whole thing finally blew over.

With her change of clothes in hand, Lori went to head up to the bathroom for her shower. But as she reached for the doorknob, she started to feel like there was somebody watching her. She turned around and was startled by the always unexpected and sudden appearance of Lucy. And as was the norm, Lori let out a small scream and jumped in surprise.

She could swear that she saw Lucy smile at her reaction.

"Lucy!" Lori gasped, feeling her heart still racing. "How long have you been in here?"

"I just got here. I need to talk to you about the gruesome crime that you committed."

Lori sighed, "I guess I should have expected this. Lynn had a talk with me yesterday about it. And I can understand that you'd want to do the same. Lincoln is you big brother and he's very important to you. Seeing what happened to him yesterday must've upset you a lot. I'm sorry."

"I know. And I agree with Lincoln when he says that you can be forgiven. Not that it would be my place to say otherwise. But there is something else. The real reason I wanted to see you."

Lucy held out Bun-Bun's severed head and body. She handed the two pieces of the torn toy to Lori, who looked down at them with regret. Out of all of the things she had destroyed, this would be by far the most difficult to replace. Even if she could find a perfectly identical stuffed bunny, it wouldn't make a difference. It had far too much sentimental value for Lincoln to just accept a new one in it's place.

"I was going to perform funeral rites for him." Lucy said. "And I almost started to dig his grave this morning. But it occurred to me that _you_ should be the one to do that. It's your fault that this happened, so you should take responsibility."

Lucy went over to the door, reaching out and placing her hand on the knob. She paused before opening the door, glancing at Lori over her shoulder.

"Once you're done taking care of Bun-Bun, then I'll be able to forgive you. I'll come see you again then."

The young goth then left the room. Lori set Bun-Bun's head and body down by her stack of clothing. A gasp sounded from behind her and she turned to find her mother standing in the doorway. The woman's eyes were locked onto Bun-Bun, but then swiftly moved onto Lori.

"I don't know why I'm surprised. It's not any worse than anything else I saw yesterday. But still, how could you do that to his favorite toy? You know that he's had that since he was a baby."

"I know." Lori admitted ashamedly. "But, it can be fixed, right?"

"Let me take a closer look." Rita said, approaching the item in question. "It's not as bad as it looks. You should be able to reattach the head easily enough. Think you're up to the task?"

Lori nodded. She had done some needlepoint in the past, so she was confident she could handle this. It wasn't like she could make it any worse. But to be safe, she would try practicing with something else first. She wouldn't want to return Bun-Bun to Lincoln, only for his little, stuffed head to fall off again.

Mentally adding the new task to her list, Lori returned to preparing for the day ahead of her. She grabbed her change of clothing and left her parents' bedroom. By this time she expected that all of her siblings would either be eating breakfast or enjoying their Saturday morning, which hopefully meant that she wouldn't need to wait for the bathroom. And the thought of a nice, hot, soothing shower only made her more eager to get up the stairs.

Unfortunately, as she reached the top step her hopes of making it into the bathroom were dashed. She caught a glimpse of Lynn entering the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

"Dang it." Lori muttered.

Normally, this wouldn't signify a long wait. Lynn was an early riser and usually one of the first to shower so long as nobody beat her to the punch. So Lori could only believe that the jock had to use the bathroom for other reasons. And aforementioned 'other reasons' didn't necessarily require a long time. But Lori has seen a rolled up sports magazine tucked under Lynn's arm before she had shut the door. That could only mean that Lori was going to have to wait a short while. If she was lucky, no more than five to ten minutes.

Regardless of the length of the wait, Lori moved in to secure her place as next to use the bathroom. She could only hope that by the time Lynn was finished that the air would still be breathable. Past experiences had proven that entry to the bathroom after Lynn had bombed the bowl could result in having to deal with some stomach turning levels of unpleasant odors.

An odd noise caught Lori's attention. Thankfully the noise wasn't coming from the bathroom, but rather from the other side of the hall. From Lincoln's room. It was at this moment that Lori noticed that her brother was in there. And he was rummaging through one of the trash bags filled with his destroyed possessions.

"Lincoln?" Lori called out softly, so as to avoid startling him. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to find my book report." He answered without bothering to look up at her. "Or I guess I should say I'm trying to find all of it's pieces."

"Oh, right. Your book report." Lori said with a nervous laugh. "The one that was probably in your backpack. The backpack that I tore in half and then ripped up everything that fell out of it. I'm really sorry, Lincoln."

"I know. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of shredded paper to look through."

Lori turned around to leave her brother to his task. But before she even went to take one step back towards the bathroom, she turned back and entered Lincoln's room. She knelt down beside him and placed her hand over his own. He felt her guide it away from the bag and he looked up at her just as she started to speak again.

"It's my fault that pretty much everything you own is going to be put out with the trash. So it should be me who has to go through all of this to find your book report. Let me take over, I literally don't care if I have to spend all day looking. I'll find every piece and put it back together for you."

Lincoln pulled his hand back harshly. He gave Lori a stern look and stepped backwards to put some space between them. For a moment he seemed to be a bit angry and resisting the urge to say something. But he took a breath and then seemed more calm and ready to speak.

"I appreciate the offer, but no thank you."

"Are you sure? Because I really want to do anything I can to help you."

"Yes, I'm sure!" Lincoln snapped. "Now please just leave me alone! That's all that I want you to do!"

Lori accepted her brother's choice and respected his request. She felt hurt that he had spoken to her with a tone like that, but she knew she could only blame herself for it. He was clearly still upset and would most likely remain that way for a while. The only thing she could do was let him have his space and try again in a little while.

As she left the room, Lincoln took his unhinged door and slid it in front of the doorway, blocking the inside of his room from view. Lori went back over to the other end of the hall, hoping that Lynn would finish up her business soon. She _really_ needed that shower.

Suddenly, a loop of rope flew over Lori and tightened around her body, pinning her arms. She was then pulled backwards and fell onto her rear. She turned to look behind herself and she found Lana, Lola and Lisa to be the ones responsible. Lana was wielding the rope while Lola held a princess wand in one hand and Lisa...Lisa had something that worried Lori very much. It was a super-soaker, the contents of which were most likely nothing that Lori wanted in contact with her person.

"W-What are you doing?!" She asked in a mild panic.

"We are insuring that you wan't endanger our elder brother again." Lisa stated.

"Yeah! Luna told us to keep an eye out in case you tried to bother Lincoln!" Lana added

"I wasn't trying to bother him!" Lori said defensively. "I only wanted to help him!"

"We heard him yell at you just now." Lola said. "So we know that you were bugging him. You're gonna leave him alone or else! I've got a princess-fairy wand, and I'm not afraid to use it!"

Lola waved her want to emphasize her point. Lisa scoffed, earning a dirty look from Lola.

"What?"

"Apologies Lola, but I sincerely doubt that your plastic replica of a fictional item could prove to be an effective weapon."

The blonde pageant princess narrowed her eyes at her younger sister and then gave her a quick rap on the head with her toy wand.

"I stand corrected. Also, ouch." Lisa said, rubbing the sore spot on her noggin. "Now, let us inform Luna, as she requested."

Lisa went to the door to Luna and Luan's room and opened it, stepping inside. After a moment she came back out with Luna in step behind her. The rocker glared at Lori and grabbed the rope that was still around the blonde, pulling her back up onto her feet.

"So you were bugging our bro again, huh? I though I told you to leave him alone!"

"I thought _you_ were told to leave _me_ alone!" Lori countered with a scowl.

"Not gonna happen. Someone clearly needs to teach you a lesson. It's about time for you to pick a fight with someone your own size!"

"I wasn't trying to...I am _NOT_ fighting you, Luna!"

"No complaints here. Just makes it easier for me."

Luna cracked her knuckles and smirked confidently at Lori. She had the younger sisters move away to give her some room and she then untied Lori. Even if Lori didn't fight back she wouldn't want and unfair advantage. Besides, she was hoping that Lori wasn't going to keep her word.

But before anything else could happen, the door to Leni's room suddenly opened. Leni stepped out and gave Luna a passing glance before heading downstairs. Lori quickly figured out what was going on and silently thanked her younger sister. And just as Lori expected, a few moments later a powerful, angry, female voice was heard throughout the entirety of the house.

 _ **"LUNA LOUD!"**_

"Uh-oh."

Rita stormed up the stairs, her eyes locking onto her third oldest child. The three younger Louds all shied away as their angry mother advanced on Luna. Luna's earlier confidence and attitude quickly diminished under her mother's fierce gaze, the girl smiling meekly up at the woman. Rita only scowled in return.

"Leni tells me that you're picking a fight with your sister. She also told me about what you did last night after dinner. Did your father and I not make ourselves clear yesterday?"

"Well, yeah...but.."

"No 'buts' young lady! You, and all of your siblings, were told NOT to get involved with each others' problems! And I am in no way pleased that you've gotten your younger sisters involved too!"

"I didn't..."

"Don't you dare lie to me! Leni heard everything that happened since you sister was speaking to Lincoln. So she knows that you did! You are on thin ice as it is, so don't press your luck!"

Rita then turned her attention to her three younger children, giving them a disapproving glare.

"And as for you three, I am going to give you all one, last warning. No more getting involved with each other's problems! And Lisa Marie! What is that in your hands?"

"Nothing!"

Lisa hid the super-soaker behind her back. But she did so hastily and ended up inadvertently squeezing the trigger, launching a blast of some viscous goop into Lincoln's door. The gunk struck the wood with such force that it cracked, nearly causing the door to fall onto a startled Lincoln.

"Dang it." Lisa grumbled over her faux pas.

"Hand it over." Rita ordered.

Lisa relinquished her super-soaker to her mother. Rita took the altered toy with caution, making a mental note to secure it someplace safe for the time being. She would have Lisa disassemble it later, under her strict supervision. But until then there were other matters for her to attend to.

"I don't know exactly what this is supposed to be used for, young lady, but you know how I feel about you making dangerous things. You aren't allowed to do anything science related until tomorrow. Understood?"

"Yes mother." Lisa sighed.

"Good, now you, Lola and Lana please go downstairs." Rita instructed, watching said girls head to the stairs before turning her attention back to her older daughters. "And as for you, Luna, unless you want to be grounded from all musical activities, you are going to assist Lori with all of her chores today. In fact, you can get a head start right now by washing all of the windows in the entire house. And I want you to think about how you've been treating her while you're at it. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, mom." Luna said, heading downstairs to get started.

"And when your sister and I get back, the two of you can talk." Rita added just before turning her gaze back to Lori. "Alright, hurry up and finish getting ready. I want to get to the grocery store before they get too busy. Your father, Luan and Lily will be coming with us. Luan has a birthday party to perform for, so you can help her get her things into the van."

"Okay, I just want to shower and get dressed. Then I'll be ready to go. And...thanks."

"Happy to help, honey. But next time, just come to me the first time it happens. You might be in trouble right now, but that doesn't mean that I won't step in to help you if your sisters are on your case."

"I'll keep that in mind." Lori said with a smile.

Rita went back downstairs and Lori resumed waiting for her turn in the bathroom. At long last she heard the toilet flush and a minute later, Lynn emerged.

"It's about time." Lori commented. "And I had better be able to breathe in there!"

"Of course you'll be able to." Lynn said. "But you may not enjoy it too much."

Lori shuddered, but didn't hesitate. She still wanted that shower and she wasn't going to let a little obstacle like a bad odor stop her. All she had to do was march in there and get the hot water running. Then it was a simple matter of getting under said running water and the smell of her body wash would overpower anything less pleasant. She'd be able to tolerate the stink long enough to accomplish that much.

However, once she set foot into the bathroom, she found that she was wrong. Very, very wrong indeed.

 **End of Chapter 7)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Just want to give out another thank you to all of you out there who left reviews. The fact that I'm getting so much feedback, as well as suggestions, helps me keep this story alive. I really appreciate the support and will do my best to keep supplying more of the same quality straight through until the final chapter. At this point I think I can safely say that this story is past the halfway point. Not too sure just how many more chapters there will be, but for now I present.**

 **Avoiding Estrangement Chapter 8)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Loud House or make any money from this story.

Lori loaded Luan's comedy props and costumes into Vanzilla's back seat. She also put her father's bowling ball bag and Lily's toy shopping cart in as well, making sure that all of the items were secure. After a moment's thought she decided to relocate her father's bag from the seat to the floor since it was the heaviest. Now all she had to do was retrieve the reusable grocery bags from inside of the house. And Lily's diaper bag too. Leaving that behind would be a mistake.

On her way back inside, Lori found Lily crawling around on the floor. She noticed that the baby girl was still only wearing her diaper and she went to scoop her up. Lily giggled as she was lifted into the air and then blew a raspberry at her older sister.

"Let me guess." Lori said. "A certain someone managed to get her clothes off, _again_. And I bet you did it literally right after you were just dressed. Am I right?"

Lily's only response was to giggle again and then to reach for Lori's earrings. Lori, familiar with such attempts, made sure to keep her baby sister from grabbing them. Luckily she knew to distract Lily with something that she would find more enticing.

"Look what I found." She singsonged, reaching down and picking up Lily's toy keys off of the floor.

Lori began to dangle the plastic keys in front of Lily, quickly and easily gaining her attention. Lily grabbed her toy keys and happily began playing with them. And with her younger sister now entertained, Lori set out to locate the little girl's missing outfit. From what she could see, there wasn't a trace of any of it in the living room or dining room. She didn't see anything in the kitchen either, which led her to try searching upstairs.

"I had better not find any of your clothes in the toilet gain, Lily." She said to the infant.

"Poo-poo." Lily said in reply.

However, just as Lori was about to take the first step upstairs, Luan appeared at the top step. In her hands were Lily's clothes and she was clearly looking for the one who was supposed to be wearing them. And when she saw Lori, Luan froze for a moment. Her eyes went from Lori, to Lily, and then back to Lori again. Then she forced a smile and slowly approached her older and younger sisters.

"There you are, silly Lily. I was wondering where you went. I'll take her, Lori."

"Okay, but I think she needs a diaper change. Again."

"I got it. I need to get her dressed again anyway. Hopefully she won't make a _stink_ about it. Ha, ha, ha! Get it?"

Lori only rolled her eyes in response. Luan turned around and went up to change Lily's dirty diaper and then put her clothes back on. Once the comedian was out of sight, Lori's face fell. She could tell that there was something up with her sister. There had been something in her eyes just then. And Lori had seen the same thing earlier that same morning too.

 _'I think Luan might be afraid of me.'_ She thought, _'Although I guess I shouldn't be surprised with how all of my other siblings have been. I better nip this in the bud before it gets any worse.'_

Lori went to follow her sister, but her mother called for her and Luan to head out to Vanzilla. She listened, knowing that she would still get the opportunity to speak with her pun-addicted sibling. If anything, it would be better this way. Now when she confronted her, she wouldn't be able to find an excuse to leave. Not so long as they were riding inside of Vanzilla.

Once Luan came back downstairs with Lily, the five Louds went out to where Vanzilla was parked out in the driveway. The parents took the front seats, Mr. Loud driving, and the three girls were seated in the first row behind them. Lily's car seat was situated behind the driver's seat and Lori allowed Luan to sit next to their baby sister. She then took the seat next to Luan, trapping the brunette between Lily and herself. Something that the jokester didn't realize until it was too late.

As Vanzilla pulled out of the driveway and onto Franklin Avenue, Lori pondered the best way to approach the issue. Just getting straight to the point was the obvious method. But it was how to handle Luan's reaction that would be the question. Lori suspected that her sister may choose to avoid the subject. If that were the case, then Lori could only hope to press the subject so far. That is unless her mother and father took her side and Luan _had_ to talk to her. But on the other hand, they could just as easily order Lori to let her sister be. Although Lori only saw that happening if she kept trying to get Luan to talk to her.

 _'I just need to take it slowly.'_ She thought _'And I should be careful with what I say too. If she is scared of me, then I don't want to do or say anything that will make her think that she's right to feel that way.'_

Lori spent another few moments thinking of how to approach the matter. Once she had settled on her best course of action, she gently placed her hand onto Luan's shoulder. The touch was soft, but it made Luan tense up to the point where she was as stiff as a board. She warily gazed at Lori from the corner of her eye, almost as if she were keeping an eye on a suspicious stranger who had been following her down the street. The difference being that in that scenario, she at least had the option to run. For now, Luan had no place to go. But it did help having both their mother and father nearby.

"Do you need something, Lori?" Luan asked, forcing another smile as she looked at her sister.

"Luan, if you need to say something to me, then please just go ahead. I know something is bothering you, and I'm the cause of it. Just be honest with me, please."

Her sister hesitated. And as she finally turned to face her fully, Luan took Lori's hand from her shoulder and pushed it away. Luan tried to give her older sister a strong glare, but couldn't seem to maintain it and just looked away from her again.

"You want me to be honest, Lori? Well I honestly want you to just leave me alone. Don't talk to me, stay away from me, don't even look at me! You can start after we get out of the van."

Lori opened her mouth to reply, but stopped herself. She looked down at her feet and began to do as Luan had told her. It hurt her to know how her sister felt, but there wasn't anything that she could do about it aside of what she was already doing with Lincoln. Which meant she could add another name to the list of siblings who weren't going to forgive her easily.

 _'I guess Leni and Lily are the only ones who will want to spend any time with me for a while. That is, if Luan doesn't keep trying to keep me away from Lily. She won't trust me with her anymore.'_ She thought, her eyes moistening.

From the front seat, Rita let out a mildly exasperated sigh. After having to deal with Luna's behavior earlier that morning she had hoped that would be the end of any issues for the day. But she supposed it would be better that this was happening now, regardless of that. She just wanted all of this to play out and then be done with, once and for all. She shifted position in her seat a little so she could look at her daughters. Lori looked up at her mother, a pleading look in her eyes. Rita gave Lori a small smile and then turned her attention to Luan.

"Luan, is there any reason why you want Lori to leave you alone? Because I think that she at least deserves to know that much."

The comedian met her mother's gaze for a moment. She knew that she was cornered with the older woman backing up Lori and she wished she had chosen her words more carefully. Saying something more along the lines of 'I just want some space' or 'I'm not ready to talk about it yet' could have helped her to avoid this predicament. But her hindsight would only do her so much good with her mother awaiting her response.

"She knows what her problem is." Luan said softly and then taking a sudden interest in the back of the driver's seat.

"That's not good enough, young lady." Rita chastised. "But that's alright. Once we get to the store, the two of you can remain in the van until you've talked this through. And we won't start shopping until you're done."

"But I have to perform at that birthday party at eleven!" Luan protested.

"Well, then you had better not take too long." Rita said simply. "Because your father and I aren't going into that store until you and your sister are able to leave this van."

Knowing better than to try and argue the matter, Luan only crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. The remainder of the ride passed without anyone else saying a thing. That is, unless one counted Lily's giggles and baby talk.

Once the family arrived at the supermarket and Vanzilla was brought to a rest in a nearby parking spot, Mr. and Mrs. Loud exited the vehicle. Mr. Loud retrieved Lily from her car seat and then shut the door, leaving Luan and Lori alone. The tension between them became palpable almost immediately. Luan shifted uncomfortably, the seat belt suddenly seeming very constricting. She steeled her nerves as best she could, knowing that she couldn't allow her older sister to intimidate her. If her parents wanted them to talk about the problem, then they were going to talk. And if Lori didn't like what she heard, then that was too bad for her.

"Okay Lori, I have to tell you something. Something I should have told you a long time ago!" She started assertively, turning to glare at Lori. "So just sit there and listen to what I ... are you crying?"

Lori slowly nodded, a steady stream of tears flowing down out of both of her eyes. She wiped them away and looked at her younger sister apologetically.

"You don't have to stop just because of that. Keep going. You said you've needed to say this for a while, right?"

"Yeah...but, it's just..." Luan clenched her teeth and let out a frustrated growl. "Dang it! I want to be mad at you, but it's hard when you look so sad! But I guess it works out since I hate being angry with anybody anyway. Just wish that I could say the same for you."

"I don't like being angry!" Lori blurted out with shock.

"You sure about that? Because you seem to get angry, _a lot._ And it's not only ever important stuff either. It takes almost nothing to set you off sometimes. Like the time Lynn told you that we ran out of bread and then you found another loaf. What did you do to Lynn again?"

"I...I literally hit her with it. Over and over again."

"Exactly my point. Do you honestly think that wasn't overreacting, even just a little?"

Lori hung her head, shaking it back and forth slowly. Looking back on that occurrence, she knew she had definitely flipped out. It hadn't even been entirely over Lynn's little mistake. She had just been having a rotten day and when she had found out that Lynn was wrong about the bread, she had just lost it. After that, it was all just a fuzzy memory.

"I'm just an awful sister, aren't I?" She asked pitifully.

"To be honest with you Lori, no. I don't think that at all." Luan said sincerely. "Most of the time, you're an amazing sister. It's just when you get mad, it's easy to overlook that. And I know that the rest of us aren't exactly angels either. But I like to think that I at least try not to let the little things get to me."

"You're talking about yesterday, aren't you?"

"Gee, you think?" Luan sarcastically asked. "I'm not going to bother bringing up everything that Mom and Dad talked about yesterday, but I am saying at least a couple of things about it. First of all, you slammed a door on Lincoln's hand, just because he wanted to go into his room! If that isn't overreacting, then I don't know what is."

"It...It was actually because he was going to tell Dad that I wouldn't let him into his room."

"That doesn't make much of a difference, Lori. And then there's what you said to him. Wishing that he hadn't been born was the most horrible thing I've ever heard anyone say to anybody. Can you blame any of us for being mad at you for that?"

"No. I'd feel the same way if I was in your shoes. It only makes sense that you'd be mad. And scared too."

Luan sighed. "Listen, maybe I'm just being paranoid. But I just can't help it. Trust me though, I would be glad for you to prove me wrong."

"I'll get right to work on that." Lori said, smiling a little. "And thanks for letting me have the chance."

"Hey, you can't earn trust back if no one let's you try to. Now if we're done here, we should get going."

"Right, you still have to go to perform at that party today. We wouldn't want to make you late."

"Yeah. I just hope that all the drama we've been dealing with won't affect my focus today."

The two got out of Vanzilla and joined their parents and baby sister. They headed through the parking lot, towards the store's entrance. As they proceeded, both Rita and Lynn Sr. fell back a bit. While their daughters had been talking, they had been listening in through the slightly open windows of the van. It had been mostly to make sure that things wouldn't get out of hand. But as they heard more of the girls' conversation, they found that there were certain things that they did not care for.

"So, is that the first time you heard about the incident with Lynn jr. and the loaf of bread?" Lynn Sr. asked in a whisper.

"I'm sorry to say that it is. And I already plan on taking care of it, so don't you worry about it, honey."

"I'm glad to hear that. This whole mess has just gotten so complicated."

"Well it's only a matter of time before we can just put it behind us. But for now, let's just try to make the most out of today. Okay?"

Lynn Sr. agreed and the two caught up with their daughters. The family entered the store and began their shopping. Rita found and empty cart while Lynn Sr. set Lily down with her toy shopping cart. The infant toddled off, her father following close behind.

"Not so fast there, Lil-ster! We don't want to leave Mommy and your big sisters behind, do we?"

He managed to catch up with Lily and guided her back to join with the other three. Mrs. Loud began to browse through the produce section while she had her two older daughters keep watch on their baby sister. Mr. Loud meanwhile went down to take a number at the deli and begin waiting in the line before if could get too long.

Lily started to wander again and her sisters kept tabs on her. Although Lori let Luan keep the closer eye on Lily, knowing that the brunette was most likely still a little less than eager to be around her. Even though their talk had helped to clear the air a little, she knew that things were still going to be different between them for a while. For now she'd just have to do whatever she could to earn back Luan's favor. Just like she had to do with Luna and Lincoln.

Lori heard Lily giggling and looked over at her. She saw Luan entertaining Lily by juggling some oranges. Her act was not only entertaining the one year old, but also drawing the attention of the other shoppers as well. But before a crowd could begin forming, Rita walked over and gave the performer a stern glare.

"Young lady, put those back this instant! I don't need you causing any trouble!"

"Sorry Mom." Luan said as she ceased her juggling and put the oranges away. "I was just putting on a show for Lily."

"That's fine, Honey. But keep in mind that there's a time and place for that and a busy store isn't the place."

"I understand." Luan said. "But hey, at least I listened to you the first time. _Orange_ you glad I did that?"

Luan laughed at her pun, prompting Lily to giggle again as well. Rita just shook her head, but did so with a small smile, before she returned to her grocery shopping, Lori couldn't help but smile as well. It was nice to see that even though things had gotten so serious between them just a short while ago, that it hadn't had an affect on Luan's sense of humor.

Lori's eyes widened as she suddenly thought of something. The solution to her problem may not have been as difficult as she had thought. At least not with Luan it wasn't. In fact, it seemed so obvious to her now that she was kicking herself for not thinking of it sooner.

Now with a plan set in her mind, Lori began to observe her surroundings a little more closely. After a minute or two, she stepped towards Luan, ready to put her plan into action. She tapped Luan on the shoulder, gaining her attention.

"Hey Luan, do you know which fruit isn't able to run away to get married?"

"No, I don't." Luan replied, picking up on what Lori was up to. "Which fruit isn't able to run away to get married?"

"The Can't-elope." Lori said, picking up a piece of the aforementioned fruit.

Luan laughed. "Okay, that's a good one! Got any others?"

"Glad you asked. Which fruit has a hard time hearing?"

"I know this one!" Luan said, gesturing to a bin of large, round, green fruits. "The What?-ermelon!"

"Bingo." Lori said before pretending to look sad. "You know what? I kinda feel bad for them. It must really stink not being able to hear. I know! Let's lend them an ear."

Lori grabbed a piece of unhusked corn and placed it on top of the watermelon bin. Luan roared with laughter, doubling over and fighting back tears in her eyes. Lori smiled triumphantly. Her plan was working! If she could just keep this up, then there was no way she wouldn't be back on Luan's good side. That is, assuming that she wasn't already there.

"Alright you two, calm down." Rita said as she joined her girls. "Lori, would you find someone who's working here, please? I want to know if they have any more avocados, or if they're all out. And where's Lily?"

Lori looked around her and couldn't spot her youngest sister anywhere. She began to worry and looked more frantically. Luckily, Luan spotted her nearby. The infant was pushing her toy cart towards one of the store's clerks, just a short distance away.

"There she is!" Lori said with a sigh of relief. "Looks like she was one step ahead of you, Mom. Don't worry, I'll get her."

Lori went after Lily, closing the distance between them quickly. She reached her baby sister just as the the little girl grabbed hold of the clerk's pant leg, giving it a tug.

"Come here, you." Lori said, picking Lily up. "Don't sneak off like that. You scared us! I'm sorry about that. I hope she didn't bother you."

"Lori?" Came the familiar voice of the clerk.

"Oh... um, hi Bobby."

 **End of chapter 8)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, so I want to take a moment to just address a guest review that this story received on the previous chapter. The reviewer commented on the repetition of Lori being chewed out by her sisters despite the fact that she is already being properly punished. It isn't the only time it has been brought to my attention, in fact the word 'predictable' has also been used. But getting to the point, I'd like to give that guest reviewer a thank you. Thank you for not being afraid to just say it (or I suppose in this case it's 'type it') the way that you saw it. I did not find it to be offensive, or even abrasive in any way whatsoever. You were simply being honest and honesty sometimes comes with an edge. For whatever it's worth, you did spark some thoughts within my mind that have led me to make some tweaks to the story, including this chapter. Although the bulk of my newly spawned ideas will be worked into the outlines I've prepared for the next couple of chapters. But for now, let's see how things play out with...**

 **Avoiding Estrangement Chapter 9)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Loud House and make no money from this story.

Lori was feeling a flurry of mixed emotions. She was, as always, happy to see her Boo-Boo Bear. But she was also nervous, as she knew that he had told her they could talk about things at school on Monday. And she was also slightly afraid since she had no idea what to expect from him. Would he be angry with her? Would he want to speak to her? Was he even able to see her the same way as before?

She tried to think of something else to say. But her mind was drawing a blank. She couldn't simply just bring up any old subject, acting like nothing had happened. Even though he hadn't been there, Lori knew that Bobby had been just as affected as any of her sisters. He and Lincoln were like brothers. To think that he wouldn't be bothered by what happened was just being foolish.

Their eyes met for a moment and then she looked away. She had caught a glimpse of uncertainty in his eyes when she had seen them It seemed like he wasn't entirely sure of what to say either. Not that it offered Lori any comfort to know that. It only made her wish for an excuse for them to just go their separate ways until they could see each other again at school, like Bobby had originally wanted. But she still couldn't think of anything to break the awkward silence between them.

"So..." Bobby began, rubbing the back of his neck. "Doing some shopping with your folks? That's nice. Need any help finding anything?"

"Oh, actually...yes, we do. My mom is looking for avocados." Lori said, grateful for the silence finally ending. "Do you know if there are anymore?"

"I can check. Give me just one minute, please."

Bobby walked over to a set of doors that led into a back room. While she waited for him to return, Lori brought Lily over to where there mother was and set the girl and her toy back down. No sooner had she done so than Lily made ready to wander off again. But Lori anticipated this and stopped her.

"Oh no you don't. You have to stay with us, Lily."

Lily blew a raspberry at Lori in response. The childish action made Rita giggle. She reached down to pat Lily on the head.

"You tell her, Lily." The woman joked. "Anyway, did you find someone to help us?"

Lori nodded. "Bobby is checking right now. He should be out any moment."

"Okay. Did he happen to say anything? About the conversation that the two of you had yesterday, I mean."

"No, I'm sure that he wants to talk. But I think it's too soon. He only found out yesterday. And besides, he's working right now. So I wouldn't want to distract him."

Rita offered a small smile and a single nod in understanding. If there was anything that she knew about her oldest child, it was that Lori had a decent sense of judgement when it came to her boyfriend. And when the two did get around to the subject, she was confidant that Lori would be able to resolve things with Bobby, should it be necessary.

A moment later, Bobby came back out with a medium sized box. He approached Lori and her mother, setting the box down and opening it up. Then he picked it back up and held it within reach of the Loud matriarch.

"Here you go, Mrs. Loud. Nice and fresh. Take your pick."

"Thank you Bobby." Rita said, picking out three of the green fruits from the box. "And thank you also for taking Lincoln out today. He's really looking forward to it."

"Same here. Just one question though. Is there a certain time you would want me to have him home?"

"Anytime before sunset is fine. But please make sure to call if you run late for any reason. You know our home phone number, right? Just in case no one answers their cell phones?"

"Yes Ma'am. And don't worry, I'll make sure to have Lincoln home with plenty of time to spare." Bobby said confidently. "But I'm sorry to say that he may not have room for any dinner."

"That's alright. As long as he doesn't eat too much pizza and ice cream."

"You got it. Is there anything else that I can do for you today?"

"We should be fine for now, thank you. See you again in a little while."

Mrs. Loud began to resume her shopping. Lori followed her mother, giving Bobby a quick glance and a timid wave in farewell. Bobby, still burdened with the mostly full box of avocados, almost went to follow them. But being the ever hardworking and loyal employee, he asked one of his nearby associates to help him by putting the rest of the box's contents out on display. And with the task now being handled, Bobby ran...Bobby power-walked to catch up with the Loud women.

"Actually, if it isn't any trouble, could I borrow Lori for a little bit? I was just about to take a break."

Lori's eyes went wide the moment she heard those words. Then she heard her mother give the okay as long as Lori wanted to go with him. She almost decided against it, but in the end opted to just go and get through what was to come. For a couple of moments her legs felt as though they had been petrified. But she couldn't just stand there and stare at him while he was waiting for her. Through what felt like far more willpower than should have been necessary, she managed to start moving her legs again. With each step she took, it became a little easier, but each step also made her feel more and more anxious.

Bobby led her to the front of the store and then outside. He guided her a short distance off to the side that was set up as an outdoor employee break area. Two other employees of the store were out there, enjoying their own breaks. One an older man, smoking a cigarette and the other a girl who was slightly older than Lori, who was sipping a can of iced tea and idly looking at her phone. Bobby kept a fair distance from them, not wanting to bother them on break. Or to risk them listening in on their conversation for that matter. They were about to have a serious talk and an audience of any size would only serve as a distraction.

"Okay, so I know that I said we would talk on Monday." he began. "But I've done a lot of thinking since yesterday and there's something that I have to say to you."

 _'Oh no.'_ Lori thought, her heart beginning to sink. _'I'm not ready for this. Please, please just let it be quick.'_

She closed her eyes, trying to prepare for what was about to happen. The anxiety she felt was like a clammy hand gently squeezing her heart, ready to crush it at a moment's notice. Then she suddenly felt something else gripping her. Bobby's hands were on her shoulders now. And while his touch did startle her slightly at first contact, it was so tender that she couldn't help but find some comfort from it.

In fact, his gentleness was a bit surprising. Enough so that Lori's fears gave way to curiosity. She slowly reopened her eyes a little bit, finding the sight before her to be very relieving.

It was right there. That handsome, charming face of his. The face that could make her smile. That could brighten her day. The face of the young man who had won her heart. With not a trace of ill will of any kind displayed by it's features.

"My feelings towards you haven't changed." he said. His voice was soft and sweet, like it often was when he flirted with her. When he would make her melt with charming compliments and sincere praise. And now that same, soothing voice was again bringing a smile to her face. It was a ray of sunshine piercing the endless stretch of grey clouds that had been floating over her head.

"And," he continued. "I want you to know that you have my full support. If there's anything that I can do to help you at all, just let me know. I'm here for you, Babe."

"Boo-Boo Bear." Lori breathed out, her voice barely above a whisper.

She was in awe. It was always obvious to her that he cared for her. But this only further cemented that in both her mind and her heart. His loyalty and dedication to her, it was almost too much sometimes. Not that she would ever dare to complain about it.

Unable to contain herself, Lori threw her arms around him and embraced him tightly. He returned the gesture, feeling Lori rest her head against the crook of his neck. She took a moment to enjoy the warmth of his body and the comfort that she found while in his arms. It was so reassuring that she almost forgot about all of her troubles. Almost.

"Bobby, you literally have no idea how badly I needed to hear that!" She cooed. "I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Lori." He said, with no hesitation at all.

Their hug ended and Lori stepped back, taking a deep breath. She felt refreshed, invigorated and lightened. For the first time in the past twenty hours she was feeling a little more like herself again.

"Thank you, Bobby. I appreciate that you took the time to tell me that. You're the best."

"Hey, I'm happy I got to see you today. It was a bit of a surprise to see you so soon though. I thought you were grounded."

"I am. But part of my punishment is chores, including helping my Mom with errands. Anyway, I do want to ask you something. I could use some advice."

"Sure thing, Babe. What do you need to know?"

"Well..." Lori began, taking a moment to think through what she wanted to say. "I'm going to be helping pay for all of the new things Lincoln will need to replace what I ruined. But it's going to be a lot of money and I was thinking of maybe finding a second job. The problem is that I don't know if I could handle that. Is there anything you can think of that might help me?"

Bobby brought his hand to his chin, scratching it as he contemplated Lori's words and came up with his response.

"I'm not going to lie to you, it isn't as easy as it sounds to have more than one job. Not that I think that it sounds easy to begin with.

Anyway, if you really want to try for it, then I'd have to say that you need to show initiative. Because that's how you can make an impression. Be willing to take on any task, even if you may not like it. Help out others, especially customers, as often as needed. Or at the very least if it's convenient. Who knows? Maybe if you impress your boss enough, then you won't need a second job."

Lori hugged him again. "Thanks, Boo-Boo Bear. That helps a lot."

"Anytime Babe. I was also going to tell you to have confidence, but you already have plenty of that. It's one of the things that makes you so beautiful."

"And your corniness is one of the things that makes you so lovable." Lori said in return with a playful giggle. "Well, I should probably be going back inside now. Don't want to keep my family waiting. Enjoy the rest of your break, Boo-Boo Bear. And please make sure that Lincoln has a lot of fun today as the arcade."

"I promise I will." Bobby said as he let go of Lori again. "But before you go, I want to just tell you one more thing."

"What's that?"

"That stuff I told you about showing initiative. It isn't just for when you're at work. You can do it at home too. Family is important; they're worth the effort."

Lori smiled. Bobby may not have been the brightest, but he had his moments. What he said made a lot of sense to her. And as his words sank in, inspiration struck. Lori experienced an epiphany of sorts, her eyes widening and her mouth opening as she gasped silently.

It was just suddenly so clear now. Like she had been driving down an unfamiliar road and then finally found out just where she was. Now she had a direction in which she could go. It might not be a straight line, and there was bound to be a few pot holes and speed bumps to deal with, but she knew that she could travel it. Starting right now.

Lori grabbed Bobby and dipped him down, planting a firm kiss on his lips. When she finished, he was left with a big, goofy grin on his face and a dreamy look in his eyes. He felt Lori pull him back onto his feet and then he heard her giggle at the look on his face.

"Consider that a 'thank you' for being such an amazing boyfriend. I've got to go now though, so I'll see you later! Love you Boo-Boo Bear!"

She turned and went to reenter the store, leaving Bobby standing there. He brushed his fingertips over his lips and let out a happy sigh. Then he heard the sound of giggling again and turned to see the other two store associates looking at him. Realizing that they had seen the little display Lori had just made with him, he could only blush and wave at them timidly with an awkward smile on his face. This only made the teenage girl snort and then burst out in laughter. The older man meanwhile simply looked from Bobby to Lori and back before he gave the blushing teenage boy a nod of approval and a thumbs up.

Back inside of the store, Lori had gotten herself an empty carriage and then went to find her parents and sisters. Making her way through the produce section of the store at a brisk clip, she soon spotted them at the seafood counter. Her mother was finishing up a phone call while waiting in line behind another customer. And while Mrs. Loud was waiting, Luan, Lily and Lynn Sr. were all crowded around the lobster tank, their eyes locked on the aquatic arthropods crawling within.

"Bugs!" Lily exclaimed, pointing at the crustaceans.

"Yeah, they do look like big bugs, don't they? But they're called 'lobsters', Lily. Can you say 'lobster'?" Luan said.

"Lob-bler!"

"Hmm, close enough." Lynn Sr. said with a shrug. "Are you sure we can't get some, Honey?"

Rita only shook her head in reply. She then returned her attention to her phone call, while still keeping an eye on the line at the counter. Lori joined them and gave the multi-legged sea creatures a brief glance before wrinkling her nose and shuddering a little.

"I think they're creepy looking. And I agree with Mom. Not just because they cost a lot. But I don't like the idea of having to boil them alive. That just seems claw-ful."

Luan laughed, as did Lynn Sr, who was pleasantly surprised.

"Nice one, Honey! Since when do you do puns?"

"Since today, apparently." Lori said. "But don't get used to it, I won't be doing it all the time. And Mom? When you're done on the phone, I'd like to ask you something."

Rita covered her phone's lower half with her hand. "I'm almost done. Lynn, sweetheart? It's our turn. Would you please get us some salmon? Thank you."

Lynn Sr. nodded and stepped up to the counter to place their order. Rita finished her call and then hung up. She looked at her oldest daughter and waved her to come closer. Lori did so, pulling her shopping cart along behind her.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I was just on the phone with Dr. Finestein's niece. She works at the Royal Woods Community Center, as the Mental Health Counselor of an anger management class. Which you will be attending, starting tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay." Lori said. "If you say so. What time?"

"You'll be there for four o'clock. And I'm glad that you're taking this so well."

Lori shrugged. "It's not like being upset about it will help. So may I take half of the shopping list? I figure that I can actually _help_ do the shopping instead of just following you around the whole time."

"Oh, good idea. Here, you get everything on this half and meet us by the checkout when you're done. Luan, why don't you go and help your big sister?"

Luan nodded and Lori passed her carriage to the comedian. Then Rita tore off half of the list to give to them. As they left, Lily waved 'bye-bye' to them, getting a wave from each of them in return.

"Be a good girl, Lily and help Mom keep and eye on Dad! Don't let him wander off!"

"But I _like_ to wander off!" Lynn Sr. said with a false whine and pouted lips.

The teenage girls laughed at their father as they continued on their way. Checking the list in her hands, Lori began to find items as they started down one of the aisles. And as they proceeded through the list, Lori began to hum happily.

"You're sure in a really good mood all of the sudden." Luan commented. "I take it that things went well with Bobby?"

"Very well." Lori said. "If you want I can tell you about it later on. But the only thing that you need to know for now, little sister, is this. Lori Loud is back."

 **End of Chapter 9)**

 **So, as always I hope that you enjoyed the latest chapter. Also, I'd like to give credit to Terrorking10 for giving me the idea to have Bobby give Lori job advice.**

 **And as stated at the before the chapter began, I'll be doing a little work on the outlines for the next couple of chapters, so I'm not sure how soon the next one will be up. Plus I've still got work to do on Beating the Blues and a one-shot I have in the works that is nearly finished. Keep your eyes open though, if you like my stories then you'll hopefully see one of them!**


	10. Chapter 10

**So, first things first I owe apologies to all of you out there who have been following the story as it has been well over a month since the last update. But writer's block and procrastination make for a nasty combination when working on a story. Anyway, enough with my lame excuses! At long last, I present...**

 **Avoiding Estrangement Chapter 10)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own The Loud House and make no profit from this story.

The sound of Vanzilla's horn blaring caught Luna's attention. She reluctantly got up from her place lounging in her bean bag chair and left her room. As she descended the stairs, she noticed her younger brother sitting in the living room with Clyde. The two boys were watching a rerun of ARGGH! on t.v. Between them was a bowl of trail mix that they were sharing and on the table was a pair of juice boxes. A commercial break started and Lincoln looked away from the screen. He saw Luna and for a moment, their eyes met. But he quickly averted his gaze and took interest in the current advertisement that was airing.

Luna felt a small stab of guilt. She continued towards the front door, taking one more brief glance at her brother just before she reached it. With slight apprehensiveness, she opened the front door and stepped outside. Lori was the first one she saw, the blonde girl heading her way with her hands full of grocery bags.

"Mom says that she needs all of the cold foods inside first." She said, passing Luna the bags she had and then returning to Vanzilla to grab some more.

As Luna came back inside of the house, Lincoln found his attention once again being diverted from the t.v. Clyde noticed this and put his hand onto Lincoln's shoulder.

"Everything alright, buddy?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's just that my mom is home. Which means that Lori is too."

"Oh, I see. Well, if you want to head upstairs for a little while, that's fine. I know that you don't have too much that we can do while you're in Leni's room, but I don't mind."

"No, it's fine. I'd have to face her sooner or later. It might as well be sooner."

"Okay, if you're sure about that. I know that all of this has been really weighing on your mind. It's still hard for me to believe it, even after you showed me your room. I honestly don't even know if I'll be able to see Lori the same way ever again."

The front door opened again and Lori entered with a couple bags of groceries in each hand. She saw the two boys and she stopped briefly to give them a quick wave before continuing her way into the kitchen.

"Hey boys."

"L-L-Lori?!" Clyde blurted out, a spurt of blood launching from his nostrils. " **ERROR! ERROR! Systems, shutting...** _ **dowwwwn...**_ _"_

Clyde fell forward. He would have landed face first on the floor if it hadn't been for Lincoln catching him at the last moment. The white-haired boy set his unconscious friend onto the couch, a small smile coming to his lips after he set Clyde's head onto the arm rest.

"Can't say that I'm surprised." he thought aloud. "It's nice to know that at least some things haven't changed around here."

His smile faded. The small comfort he had found in his friend's predictable behavior was quickly replaced by a sense of need. There was something he knew he had to do. Something that he had been waiting to do all morning.

Lincoln went into the kitchen, passing Luna as she was on her way back out to Vanzilla for more things. This time it was Luna who looked away when they saw each other. It made him feel a little bad, but he didn't stop to say anything to her. They could talk later, but right now it was Lori who he wanted to see.

His oldest sister was busy putting various things into the fridge when he entered the kitchen. She didn't notice him at first, even as he stepped closer. But as she suddenly turned to pick up the milk that she had left on the counter, she accidentally bumped into him and elbowed him in the head.

"OW! Lori!"

Lori gasped. "Lincoln! I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!"

She went to check on him. But just as she was about to get a closer look, Luna came in and pushed her aside. It was only enough to move her out of the way, but it still got under Lori's skin all the same. And when Luna started to glare at her, she was more than ready to glare back.

"Before you say anything, Luna Loud, it was an accident." Lori stated calmly. "But if you want to press your luck, then go ahead and get mad at me again. Just keep in mind that our mom is right outside and we're both already in enough trouble as it is."

Luna was mildly surprised by the return of Lori's confidence and attitude. Not that it really mattered to her. She was still planning on holding her ground. And the look Lori was giving her was really waring on her nerves. She wanted nothing more than to just spit right into Lori's face at that moment. But she had to admit that Lori made a fair point. With their mother at home, it didn't matter how badly she wanted to do anything, she wouldn't be able to get away with it.

"Whatever dude." the brunette said, turning to leave the room.

"NO!" came the voice of the only male sibling. "No 'whatevers'! You owe her an apology, Luna!"

Lincoln stepped over to stand by Lori's side. His oldest sister gaped at him. He was just standing there, his arms crossed and glaring expectantly at Luna. Luna, in turn, had lost the fire that had just been fueling her actions. Now she looked just as shocked as Lori was. And also a little hurt too. She was silent for a moment, but then she mumbled out a half-hearted apology before excusing herself to go and get more things out of Vanzilla. But just as she was leaving, she ran into her mother, who was holding a fussy Lily in her arms. Luna shrank back when she saw her mother, the action gaining the woman's attention.

"Is something the matter, Luna? You look like I just caught you doing something wrong. Did I?' Rita asked.

Luna smiled nervously. She knew that she had been backed into a corner now. Instinct told her that she should feign innocence in an attempt to avoid making her mother angry with her again. But common sense told her that it would be in her best interests to just come clean and deal with whatever happened next. Not that her first option had much of a chance with both Lori and Lincoln right there behind her. So it looked like using honesty it was.

"Yes ma'am." Luna admitted. "I was getting up in Lori's face again. But I did say that I was sorry!"

"Uh, yeah, but only after Lincoln told you to!" Lori added hotly. "Before that you were literally acting just like you did earlier!"

Rita gave her third oldest child and unsurprised look, as well as a disappointed sigh. She shifted restless baby in her arms and walked over to the counter.

"I suppose that since we already need to have a talk, that it would be pointless to get angry again. But still, I'm not happy with this. So you can go and get all of the remaining groceries by yourself while I start putting everything away. Lori, could you please see if you could get Lily to settle down? She's been acting up ever since we got home."

"Okay." Lori said, taking Lily from her mother.

"I can see if Blarney is on." Lincoln offered. "That should keep her occupied."

"Good idea, Lincoln. Thank you." Rita said. "Maybe you can sit with her for a little bit? I'm sure having a little company would make her happy too."

Lincoln nodded and ran into the living room so he could change channels on the t.v. Lori followed him, Lily squirming in her grasp. However, once Lincoln had found the children's program featuring the Irish dinosaur, Lily ceased her fussing. Her eyes locked onto the t.v. as she became captivated by the show and Lincoln took a seat on the couch beside Clyde's sleeping form. He held out his hands and Lori passed their baby sister to him. Lori then turned to return to the kitchen, but felt something take hold of her arm.

"Lori, wait." Lincoln said softly. "I'm sorry. About how Luna's been treating you."

"Why are you sorry?" Lori asked, turning to look at him with a gentle smile. "It's not like you told her to do anything to me. Right?"

"Of course not! But, I still feel guilty. I know that she's only doing it because she'd angry about what you did to me."

"So? That doesn't make you responsible for any of it. It's all her and what she's doing is just between me, her and Mom now. So don't worry about it, okay? But thanks for standing by my side just now, Lincoln. I really appreciate that you did that."

"No problem." Lincoln said, smiling a little. "And I'm sorry about earlier this morning too. For snapping at you when you were only offering to help. It's just that when I saw all of my stuff in garbage bags, it made me angry."

"It's okay. You had every right to feel that way. And you're probably still mad with me about it, right?"

"Yes, I am." Lincoln admitted. "But for whatever it's worth, I don't like being angry. At anyone."

"I literally doubt that anyone does. And if they do, then they're weird." Lori said. "Anyway, I need to go and help Mom now. Let me know if you need anything, okay? I owe you, after all."

"Okay."

Lori left Lincoln and Lily to enjoy their show. Back inside of the kitchen, she joined her mother and began putting away the many food items they had gotten at the supermarket. Luna came in with more bags and set them down for her sister and mother before heading out to grab the next batch. When she came back in with them and set them down, she looked to her mother and stood in place, unsure of how to approach the woman.

"Yes Luna?" Rita asked, taking notice of her child.

"Um, that was the last of the groceries. Should I help put stuff away now?"

"No. You will stand in the corner while Lori and I put everything away. Then we'll all sit down to have our little talk."

Luna obeyed without question and went to stand in the corner. Lori glanced at her younger sister. A part of her sympathized with the other teen, but mostly she felt a sense of comfort knowing that things were finally going to be resolved between her and Luna. WIth their mother playing the role of mediator, she could feel more capable of addressing the issue without Luna acting out of turn. And once Luna was back on her side, or at the very least no longer interveneing, then Lori could purely focus on her main goal of making amends with her brother. At that point, everything would start falling into place. Lori was sure of it.

A short while later, Lori set the last item from the grocery bags into it's place in the cupboards. With the task now complete, she took a seat at the kitchen table. Rita joined her and instructed Luna to do the same. Once the brunette had sat down, Rita took a deep breath to prepare herself for what was next. She was hoping things would go smoothly, but she needed to keep in mind that the two of her daughters at the table both could have an attitude. If either of them somehow agitated the other, then she'd need to be ready to intervene.

"Alright, before we begin." She said. "I'm going to just make one thing perfectly clear. I am not going to tolerate any single bit of trouble that either of you may try to start. That means no raising your voices, no belittling one another, no foul language or namecalling and I don't want to hear any unpleasant tones when you speak. Got it?"

"Yes Mom." Luna said, slouching down in her seat, her eyes on the table.

"I understand." Lori said, sitting upright with her hands nearly folded in front of her. "And if it's okay with you, I'd like to go first. I have a point that I'd like to make."

Rita allowed Lori to proceed with whatever it was she had in mind. Lori stood up and asked for Luna to do the same. The two faced each other, Luna refusing to look her sister in the eyes. Instead she looked down at the floor, waiting for Lori to get on with making her 'point' so they could just have it done and out of the way. The sooner this was over, the sooner she could get through having to be reprimanded by her mother.

"Luna, please look at me." Lori requested, taking a moment to allow her sister to comply. "I know that you're obviously still mad at me, and it's literally with good reason that you are. And it's been bugging me a lot to have you treating me the way that you have. But if you really need to get your anger towards me out of your system, then I'll let you slap me in the face."

Both Rita and Luna's jaws dropped, their eyes wide. Neither of them was sure that they had heard Lori right at first, but Rita didn't question it for very long. She stood up, nearly knocking over her chair, and slammed her palms down onto the table.

"Absolutely NOT!" she exclaimed. "There will be none of that!"

"Even though I'm giving her permission to do it?" Lori asked.

"Honestly, I don't consider it any better than provoking her into hitting you. My decision stays the same. No!"

"Mom, I get it. I really do. But please trust me, I know what I'm doing."

Rita took another deep breath and let it out slowly. She leaned with one of her hands still firmly set on the table while she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Lori, I do trust you. But that doesn't mean that I'll just go back against what I said before. I don't care if you're giving Luna permission. She still doesn't have mine. And that is final.

However, I know that you said you have a point to make. And I'm guessing that it has something to do with letting Luna hit you. So how about this? Let's say that, hypothetically, I did allow it. What would you do next?"

"Easy." Lori answered. "If Luna had hit me like I asked, I would have asked her if it made her feel any better. So? What would you say, Luna?"

Luna frowned. "It might make me feel better if I actually got to do it."

"What was that, young lady?" Rita asked, narrowing her eyes at Luna.

"Nothing." Luna answered with a mildly petulant tone. An instant later however, she rethought her response. "I-I mean, I'm sorry."

"Mmm-hmm. That's what I thought. Another slip up like that and I'll be holding onto all of you instruments for a week. Now, Lori, what's the point to whether or not Luna would feel better if she did get to hit you?"

"My point would be that it wouldn't matter if she did feel better." Lori stated. "It wouldn't really change anything. Lincoln's room would still be a wreck and I literally doubt that it would make him feel better to know that it had happened. He'd still be upset with me. And he'd be upset with you too, Luna. He definitely wasn't happy with you just a little while ago."

That last remark made Luna's eyes moisten, just a little. She shook her head, trying to snap out of the oncoming grasp of sadness. But it was no use. Her temper had been dampened and all she could think of was how Lincoln had looked at her earlier. And of how he had stood by Lori's side when Luna was just about to start something with the older girl.

"Yeah...he wasn't too amped, was he?" Luna asked. "It's almost like he forgot that he was mad at you and now suddenly I'm the bad guy."

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course Lincoln's still mad with me! He even said it literally right before I came in here to help Mom put away the groceries." Lori said, swinging her arm up and gesturing towards the living room. "And he'll be upset about it for a while. There's only so much than anyone can do about that. But he doesn't need to be mad at another of his sisters, especially when he doesn't want to be mad at the first one in the first place! You might think that what you've been doing is helping, but it _isn't_!"

"You think that I don't know that?!" Luna snapped.

"Tone and volume, Luna Loud." Rita warned.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Luna said. "I just can't help it! Everything that happened to Linc yesterday has been bugging me so much! I was up half of the night because I couldn't stop thinking about it! And when I woke up this morning, it was the first thing on my mind!"

Luna's voice was beggining to crack. Tears were threatening to run down her cheeks and she clenched her fists, her hands trembling.

"So, yeah, being mad at you isn't helping. But I don't know what else I can do! Because more than anything else...I...I'M MAD AT MYSELF!"

End of Chapter 10)


	11. Chapter 11

**Just a quick note before this chapter, I am sorry to say that this story is going to be put on a short hiatus. This is strictly to try and get some of the other ideas that I have taken care of. I've got some one-shot ideas that keep popping up in my head and I also would like to try and complete Beating the Blues, despite the fact that this story was started in the first place. Once I have those out of the way, hopefully I'll be able to focus on this one more as I do want to complete it, I just keep getting distracted with the other ones while I try to work on it. At most I hope to be back to work on this by mid-October. Until then, please enjoy...**

 **Avoiding Estrangement Chapter 11)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Loud House and make no money from this story.

Lori blinked. "Say what now?" she asked, a little confused. "You're mad at...yourself? Why?"

"Because, I should have stopped it from happening." Luna replied, looking down at the floor.

"Well I shouldn't have done it in the first place!" Lori said in return. "We can't be wasting our time on what we think we should or shouldn't have done. All we can do is accept that what happened has happened and that we can't change it now. It isn't your fault, okay?"

"I know it isn't my fault!" the brunette spat. "But I still should have done something! I know I could have! I was downstairs the entire time you were biting his head off and part of me wanted to just go up there and tell you off for it! I knew I should have stepped up for my little bro, but I _didn't_!"

Rita cleared her throat, gaining the attention of Luna and Lori. Luna found her mother's eyes on her and she apologized for raising her voice again. It wasn't that she wanted to do it, she just wasn't aware that she was doing it until after it had happened. That and it was helping her to feel just a little bit better. It was like there was a whirlwind raging inside of her and she was letting it out little by little. She just wished that she could get it all out at once.

...maybe...maybe she could.

"Mom, could I be excused?" Luna asked, somewhat timidly.

"That depends. Why do you need to be excused?"

"I, uh...I want to go scream."

"Excuse me?" Rita questioned with one eyebrow arched.

"I just want to vent. Y'know, get it all out?"

"Oh, that's what you meant. That's a good idea, actually. Hold on a second. I'll be right back."

Rita stepped out of the room for a moment. When she returned she had a throw pillow from the living room. She handed it over to Luna who took it without question. It hadn't crossed her mind to do it this way, but she definitely liked the idea.

Luna faced Lori, staring at her older sister with an undivided focus. Her brow furrowed as she recalled the incident from the preceding day. The words Lori had used on their brother sounded in her memory as clearly and cruely as they had the moment they had left Lori's mouth. And when Lori had slapped him, Luna remembered that sound too since it had caught her attention so quickly. She had sat upright and looked over towards the stairs, worry and curiosity mixing within her. But before she had gotten a chance to stand up, she saw her brother tumbling down the stairs, making her freeze with shock. Even though she had just seen it happen, she couldn't believe it.

And then there was how scared he had looked after he got back up. Luna was so grateful that he was able to stand, but then he ran, as though his life depended on it, straight out the door. It made Luna's blood boil. It made her stomach churn as she felt her anger returning and growing. She clenched her teeth, grinding them as her nails dug into the throw pillow.

Now with the fire back in her belly, Luna was ready to let loose. She inhaled deeply through her open mouth, until she felt her lungs fill to the point where it almost hurt. Then she pressed her face into the soft pillow and emitted a primal scream. The pillow was barely enough to muffle Luna's cry, which lasted over the course of ten seconds before she needed to breath in again. After that she let loose a second scream which was followed by a third before Luna finally stopped.

"Well, do you feel better now?" Rita asked after allowing Luna a moment to catch her breath.

Luna nodded. "Uh-huh. Thanks."

"Good. Now, do you have anything that you would like to say to Lori?"

The rocker nodded again and sat back down, still holding the throw pillow. She hugged it to her chest, squeezing it tightly. Her eyes stayed focused on the table for a moment and then they moved onto Lori, more sadness in them now than there had been anger before.

"Just...just don't ever do it again, okay? Promise me that and I'll start keeping my cool. Even if you do something that really ticks me off, I'll try not to let it get to me. As long as it isn't anything like what you did yesterday."

Lori moved her chair over next to Luna's so she could sit beside the other girl. She placed her hand onto Luna's shoulder, their eyes meeting.

"I would never want it to happen again, Luna. Believe me, it's literally nothing that I will ever be proud of. I screwed up big time and I'll do everything I can to make up for it. But I can't promise that I won't ever lose my temper again. What I can promise is that the next time I do get angry, that I'll do better to control myself. Mom had me signed up for an Anger Management Class, starting tomorrow."

"And she's going each weekend for as long as the counselor deems necessary, right Lori?" Rita said.

"Yes Mom." Lori replied. "And the first thing that I'm going to do there is tell the counselor what I did to our brother yesterday. Well, her and a bunch of total strangers, which really freaks me out by the way."

Lori paused, allowing Luna the chance to respond. But Luna stayed silent, processing her older sister's words and unable to find any of her own. For the first time since the incident that had occurred the previous day, Luna was seeing past the impulsive and angry actions Lori had made. She felt Lori's hand on her own and felt the older girl give it a gentle squeeze.

"It's okay if you don't feel like you're ready to forgive me. All I want is a chance to earn your forgiveness. Please Luna, I at least should be allowed that much."

"...okay." Luna said after another moment of silent thought. "I can give you that chance. If Linc is willing to do it, then there's no reason that I shouldn't. Besides, it's looking pretty obvious that being on your case isn't exactly doing me any favors."

"Gee, ya think?" Lori asked with a trace of sarcasm. "You even got Lisa and the twins mixed up in it! It's no wonder as to why Lincoln isn't happy with you!"

Luna flinched a little. She didn't need a reminder that Lincoln was mad with her. That wound was still fresh and raw. And it wasn't just that either. Before he had snapped at her earlier, she had been getting the cold shoulder from him all day too. She only wanted to be there and stand up for him, but instead she had found him opposing her. Just thinking about it was enough to make Luna's heart sink.

"Yeah, that may not have been the best idea. It's probably a big part of the reason Linc is mad at me. I really do owe him an apology."

"Well, at least you won't need to work on it as much as I'll have to. But hey, maybe we could start working on that together. Would you be up for that?"

"Totally." Luna said, perking up a tiny bit. "In fact, how about we think up some ideas while we're doing chores? I can play my fave playlist for us to listen to. The same one I listen to when I need to cram for an exam or do homework."

Lori suppressed a laugh. "I'm grounded, remember? No phone, no t.v., I'm not even allowed into my own room. Pretty sure that I'm also not allowed to listen to music. But...I did just remember that I do have homework to do. Gonna have to get started on that after the chores. Speaking of which, what do you want us to do, Mom?"

"Laundry for starters." Rita replied. "After that you can both quietly do any homework that you have. Then all you need to do is wash the dishes after dinner tonight. Get through all of that and you'll both be done. But before you get started, I do have something very important to say to you both."

Rita stepped over to her daughters and placed a hand onto each of their faces, gently caressing their cheeks. She looked solemnly into their eyes and spoke in a strong, even tone.

"I love you both. And I will never, ever stop loving either of you, no matter what. But under no circumstances will I let that stop me from doing everything I can to raise you right. Even if I have to start being very harsh with you at times. The two of you have to understand that you're almost adults, especially you, Lori. And if either of you cause trouble, like a fight at school or anywhere out in public, then you may wind up in trouble with the police. Possibly even arrested."

Both Lori and Luna's eyes widened. They gulped simultaneously and waited for their mother to continue speaking, expecting that she had more to add. What they didn't expect was for her to suddenly take hold of their earlobes, pinching them harshly.

"And if either of you ever do end up in that kind of trouble, then you had better hope that you don't get arrested. Because if you do, I will do anything that I can to bail you out. But after that, the punishment I'll have for you will make a night in prison cell look like a day at the spa. Do you understand me?"

The two teens nodded and Rita let go of their ears. Rita then gave them each a kiss on the forehead and turned to leave the room.

"Head down into the basement and get started on the laundry. I'll have Leni bring you both your homework. And if you finish it before dinner, then you can have some free time to yourselves. Just keep in mind that you still aren't allowed to do anything that goes against your punishment, alright Lori?"

Lori nodded, "I know. I'll just find something else to do besides watch t.v. or using my phone. Would reading be okay?"

"Of course. Just as long as what you're reading isn't on a screen. Also, like you said yourself, no music either. And that goes for the both of you."

"Aw, bummer." Luna said. "For how long?"

"Only for the rest of today for you, Luna. And just so you know, you could have avoided that if you had just stayed out of it like your father and I told you and your siblings last night."

"I get it." the brunette said, letting her shoulders slump. "I brought it on myself when I didn't listen to you like a should've. That's why you want to punish me."

Rita sighed, "Honey, I don't _want_ to punish you. I have to. Because I care enough to do what's necessary to make sure that you grow up right. One day you may be a mother yourself, and then you'll feel the same way I do now. And we can talk more later on if you like, but for now it's time for you two to get to work. I'll send Leni down in a little bit with your school bags so you can do your homework."

The girl's nodded and went to enter the basement while their mother went into the living room. From his place on the couch, Lincoln peeked over at his mother as she walked towards him. She leaned on the back of the couch and reached over to ruffle his hair briefly, smiling a little.

"How are you two doing? Enjoying your show?"

"Ga!" Lily exclaimed happily, pointing to the television screen.

"Yes, I see that sweetie." Rita replied, allowing herself a small chuckle.

"Is everything okay, Mom?" Lincoln asked out of concern.

"Heard some of what was going on in the kitchen, did you?" Rita asked knowingly in return.

"Uh-huh." Lincoln said with a short nod. "I wasn't trying to eavesdrop or anything, but some of it was kinda hard to miss. Both Lori and Luna sounded upset. Are they going to be alright?"

"They'll be fine Lincoln. They're just being teenagers. Life for them can be a bit of an emotional roller coaster sometimes. But don't you worry about it, okay? I'll make sure things work out between them. I promise."

"Can I do anything to help?" he offered.

"Yes. Don't grow up too fast." Rita replied, reaching down to pick up Lily from his lap. "And that goes double for you, baby girl. You're enough trouble as it is. How about we go and take a nice little nap together? Mommy really needs one right about now."

"No." Lily said, smiling up at her mother.

Rita giggled. "Okay, but you're coming with me anyway. Your big brother needs to go bye-bye soon. He's got an important play date with his friends. Which reminds me, please make sure that Bobby remembers that I don't want you out to late, alright? Same as always, be home before the street lights come on."

"Yeah, um...about that." Lincoln said, scratching the back of his head a little. "I know that it's really last minute, but Clyde invited me to stay over his place tonight. Can I? Please?"

"Well...okay. But let me call the McBrides to let them know that you have my permission. Check in with me before you leave, alright?"

Lincoln nodded and thanked his mother. Rita went into her room with Lily to take a short rest, leaving Lincoln alone with the still unconscious Clyde. He gave his friend a gentle nudge and managed to rouse him after a few tries.

"Huh? Wha...what happened?" the bespectacled boy groggily asked.

"Same thing as always." Lincoln answered with a grin. "You saw a certain someone and fainted, again."

"Oh...whoops. Sorry buddy."

"No worries. But I've got good news. My mom said I can stay over tonight. She's calling your dads to let them know now."

Clyde sat up, excitement in his eyes. "Really? Sweet! So, what should we do tonight? Got any ideas?"

"Kinda..." Lincoln said, slight hesitation in his voice. "It's not really anything fun, but I was hoping to ask a favor. Do you think that your dads could help me set up an appointment with Dr. Lopez? For both me and Lori?"

End of Chapter 11)


	12. Chapter 12

**Well it was another long wait, but I'm back to work on this story! I'll be putting my all into keeping up with it now since I have (finally) gotten a couple other things off of my plate. This chapter will be featuring a little more of Luna and Lori, so it will be a bit heavy on the dialogue. But how many of the preceding chapters of this story weren't? Anyway, I sincerely hope that you enjoy...**

 **Avoiding Estrangement Chapter 12)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Loud House and make no money from this story.

Lori lifted the lid of the washing machine and reached inside. She began to grab the many socks within and gently shook them out one at a time. Next she handed them to Luna who tossed them into the dryer. The two then repeated their actions over and over until all of the load had been transferred from one machine to the other. It was ridiculously tedious and Luna was just glad that it didn't take any longer than it did.

"Sheesh, do you really need to do this every time you do the laundry?" She asked her older sister.

"No, not every time." Lori replied. "I try to let the socks pile up so I can just do them all in one load. And you haven't even gotten to the fun part yet. Just wait until you have to sort out which socks belong to who."

"Wow, sounds fun." Luna deadpanned. "I can't wait to start that."

Lori smirked. "We'll do that part together. Maybe we can make a game out of it and see who can match the most pairs?"

"I think I'd have more fun doing my homework." the rocker said, a smirk of her own appearing. "That almost sound like an idea our 'rents would think up."

"Ouch. Was it that lame?" Lori joked.

"Yeah, but at least you're trying. I can swing a few points your way for that."

"Thanks. So, is there anything that you want to talk about while we work on the laundry? Maybe something that you want to say to me that you couldn't say in front of Mom?"

Lori poured in a cupful of detergent and started to grab various pieces of clothing to toss into the washer as it filled with water. Luna hopped up onto the dryer. She leaned back, propping herself up with one arm while laying the other across her lap. There was a somewhat playful glint in her eyes when she face Lori.

"I dunno. Are you sure you want me to do that? I can be pretty harsh when I want to be."

"So I've noticed." Lori stated. "But if you still have something to get off of your chest, then go ahead. Just keep it down so Mom doesn't hear you, okay?"

"Gotcha."

Luna took a moment to think. There wasn't really too much regarding the recent events that she hadn't already addressed. And certainly not anything that she'd worry about saying in front of their mother. But she did have something else she wanted to bring up. Something that had been on her mind for a long while now. Bothering her like an itch that wouldn't stop.

"There's one thing I want to ask you. And I want you to be totally honest with me when you answer it, alright? I don't care how much I might not like what I hear, just say it the way it is."

Lori nodded. "Got it, no sugar coating the truth, right?"

"Bingo." Luna said. "If you gotta be harsh, then be harsh. And I'll do my best to keep my cool no matter what. If I don't, then I'll go tell Mom myself."

"Careful, you might make it a little too tempting for me to resist." Lori replied teasingly, allowing herself a small giggle. "But seriously, don't worry about it. Whatever it is you want to ask me, I doubt I'll need to be harsh when I answer. So what is t that you want to know?"

"What are we to you?" Luna asked. "Me, Leni, Luan, Lynn, Linc and all the little dudettes. How do you see us? Because sometimes, I feel like you have something against us. Like we're all just problems that you have to put up with."

A look of shock came to Lori's face briefly and then turned into one of shame. She set down the shirt she had just been about to place into the wash and stepped over to stand in front of her sister. Luna thought for a moment that Lori might have found the question to be on the offensive side. It hadn't been her intention for it to come out that way, but it was becoming obvious that was the case as she saw her sister's expression become dead serious.

"You aren't entirely wrong, Luna. I _do_ have to put up with all of you. But it isn't because I see you guys as problems. I'd say...all of you are more like a responsibility. Even if Mom and Dad are home, I still feel like I need to be ready for whatever craziness any of you could cause!"

"We can't be _that_ bad." Luna calmly defended.

"Says the girl who blew out the power for every house in a three block radius." Lori countered. "In fact, while we're talking about you, let me just point out that out of all of my siblings, _you_ frighten me the most."

"Say what?" Luna blurted out in complete shock. "You're pulling my leg, right?"

"No. No I am not. You, Luna Loud, have terrified me on many occasions. Care to guess why?"

Luna could only shrug. Aside of how she had been treating Lori since yesterday, she couldn't think of anything she could have done that would actually frighten her older sister. She always thought of herself as a laid back, cool sister. Until somebody went and pushed her buttons, that is. But that didn't happen often enough to make anybody afraid of her, did it?

"Let me tell you." Lori said. "Once, I had a sweet, beautiful, little sister named Luna. She was literally the text book definition of a wallflower. She was kind, polite, and so shy that she couldn't even use a public bathroom unless someone she knew went in there with her."

A fierce blush came to Luna's face. "T-that was back in first grade!"

"Yeah, and second, third, fourth...and fifth. Or did you forget about the time that you dragged Luan away from her friends during lunch because you were about to wet yourself?"

"Actually, I did. Thanks for the reminder." Luna mumbled. "So is there a point? Because I don't get how I scare you just because I was a little different when I was younger."

"A little different?" Lori echoed. "No, Luna. Try _completely_ different in literally the blink of an eye. One day you were suddenly wearing a completely different style of clothing, you were behaving differently and had went and had most of your beautiful hair cut off! It was like a total stranger walked into the house and said that she was my sister! Do you have any idea how long it took me to get used to that?"

Luna shook her head. "Sorry, sis. Haven't a clue. It didn't even cross my mind back then to be honest. I was more worried about how Mom and Pops would react. Luckily they were pretty chill about it."

"Maybe when they were around you they tried to be." Lori said. "But anytime that they'd go out and leave me in charge from then on, they'd always tell me to keep tabs on what you'd do, whether or not you'd go anywhere and to keep track of how long you were gone. They...they were worried that you might start _doing stuff_."

The shocked expression that came to Luna's face brought Lori some comfort. Like her parents, Lori had also begun to think that her sister could very well have been participating in certain activities. And while she tried to convince herself that she was just worrying herself over nothing, there was always this one lingering doubt in the back of her mind.

"Please, Luna, I was honest with you. Now I need you to be honest with me. Have you done anything?"

"What?! _NO!_ I'm not that type of girl! I haven't been fooling around, if that's what you mean!"

"Okay, okay. I believe you, Luna. But what about other things? You know, like..."

"Like what, Lori? Drugs and alcohol? I haven't touched the stuff!" Luna exclaimed defensively, crossing her arms. But after a moment, she began to calm down a little, a slightly guilty expression coming to her face. "Okay, except for one time when I was at a concert."

Lori's eyes widened. She could only stare silently at her younger sister as she absorbed that fact. And Luna could understand why. She could tell that Lori was afraid to ask her just what it was.

"I tried some beer. Only a little bit of it." She told Lori. "This older girl I met, a college student, offered me a sip of hers. So, I figured I'd give it a shot. They were selling the stuff for five bucks a cup, so I was curious to see what the bid deal was. But for what it's worth, I didn't like it. Way too bitter."

"It doesn't change the fact that you tried it in the first place." Lori stated frankly.

"Oh like you've never done anything that Mom and Dad wouldn't be proud of!" Luna snapped, regretting it instantly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that."

"It's alright." Lori assured her. "I probably would have snapped too, if you were the one lecturing me. And you know what? You're right. I'm not exactly able to say that I've never done anything that would upset our parents. It looks like it's my turn to tell you something that I haven't shared with anyone in our family."

Luna looked surpried for a moment, but then a wide smile slowly came to her face. She leaned forward and looked at her sister expectantly.

"So perfect, little Lori _does_ have a skeleton in her closet. This I gotta hear. So, what did you do? Was it some 'alone time' with Bobby?"

"First of all, that isn't anyone's business except mine and Bobby's. I am a lady and a lady doesn't kiss and tell. Secondly, what I did is something that I'm literally ashamed of." Lori paused for a second, her eyes wandering to the wall. "I was over my friend Whitney's place for a party that she was having. Her parents were out of town and didn't even know that she was having people over. So it got a bit out of control. Some of the people she had invited had brought over others who hadn't been on the guest list. It started to get pretty noisy and eventually some of her neighbors called the police to file a complaint."

"Oh yeah, I remember everyone talking about that at school!" Luna interrupted. "But, what does that have to do with anything? It wasn't like you were the one who brought over all those uninvited people."

"I'm just about to get to that. It happened not too long before the police were called. Maybe twenty minutes or so, I can't actually remember. I was in the kitchen with Whitney, Becky and a few of our other friends from school. One of Becky's cousins was offering us some brownies that she had made. To be more specific, they had been made special. They were pot-brownies. And yes, I tried them."

Lori looked back at her sister. She wasn't surprised to see that Luna's jaw was hanging own so low that it was nearly resting in her lap. The sight would have been enough to make Lori smile under normal circumstances, but right then she couldn't manage it. The memory of that day was making her feel both strong regret and shame. It was definitely not her proudest moment.

"Some of the others grabbed one right away. But when it was my turn, I said no. And I said it again and again, because apparently Becky's cousin didn't seem to care that I wasn't interested. A couple of the others started to join her in coaxing me into having one. They even started to tease me too! But lucky for me, both Becky and Whitney had my back. However, this started an argument between Becky and her cousin. So I just grabbed one and ate it... and to tell the truth, I didn't handle it easily. You can probably guess what happened next."

Luna nodded. "You got baked."

"For a lack of a better wording, yes. But I did so under one condition. I asked Becky to record how I acted during that time so I could see myself. To see just what that stuff did to me. And I _hated_ what I saw when I watched it!"

Lori clenched her right hand into a fist and she barely managed to suppress the urge to slam it against the wall. She clenched her teeth as well, feeling them grind a little as she tightened her jaw muscles. Hot tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she recalled the memory of that day.

"I looked like such an idiot!" she spat with mild self-loathing. "And if I were ever put into the same situation again with those same people, I'd refuse their stupid offer no matter how many times I got teased for it! I promised myself that I would _never_ give into peer pressure again after that day! All it did was make me into a joke!"

The tears began to fall from her eyes. Lori quickly wiped away the moisture, trying to keep any more from spilling.

"Dang it! I told myself that I was done crying! At least until I got Lincoln to forgive me! Stupid tears, just stop already!"

Suddenly, Lori felt a pair of slender arms wrapping around her. As she removed her hands from her eyes, she found Luna against her, squeezing her tight and resting her head on Lori's shoulder.

"Let it go." Luna told her softly. "Don't hold back. If you need to cry, then just cry. I've got you, sis."

Lori felt the tears renew and this time she didn't try to keep them from falling. She returned the embrace, gently laying her head against Luna's.

"Thank you, Luna. You have no idea how much I needed this. And I'm not talking about the crying."

She let go after a few seconds, separating herself from Luna and stepping back over to the washer.

"Alright, as nice as that was, we need to get back to work. Would you pass me the stain remover, please?"

Luna nodded. "You got it, sis."

 **End of Chapter 12)**

 **Okay, so I wanted this chapter to be a bit longer, but then I realized that might mean making the next one shorter than I'd like. So I tried to divide it in a way that would let me avoid that without leaving things off at an odd place. Not entirely sure if I did, but so be it. As always, honest opinions and constructive criticisms are welcome!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Just a quick response to a guest reviewer who commented on part of the previous chapter. I sort of had a feeling I was going overboard with Lori eating three brownies, but wasn't completely sure. Thank you for bringing that up so I could correct it.**

 **Also since I cut the last chapter shorter than I wanted it to be, I did a little rearranging and sort of made this into a filler chapter. Or at least that's how I see it. Regardless the plot will resume in the next one, but for now here's...**

 **Avoiding Estrangement Chapter 13)**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Loud House and make no profit from this story.

Lori dug through the dirty laundry, moving aside various tops and skirts and pants that belonged both to herself and her many sisters. She reached further into the pile, continuing to ignore almost everything else she saw until she at last obtained the item she sought. From the many other articles of clothing, Lori exhumed a pair of bright blue boxers with little sheep printed on them.

"Aha!" she exclaimed victoriously. "I knew there was another pair in there!"

She peeked inside of the boxers and wrinkled her nose a bit. Grabbing the bottle of stain remover, she gave the inside of the boxers a small spritz. Then she put them down to let the remover set and began to add some other items from the dirty laundry pile to the washer. Luna meanwhile was busy sorting through the many pairs of socks that had just been taken out of the dryer. As she heard Lori make her find, she took a moment to look at her sister.

"So does that mean that you're finally gonna lend me a hand with this? Because it's more of a pain than I thought it would be."

"Almost." Lori told her. "I just need to finish putting a few more things to be washed. I'm pretty sure that Lynn had some grass stains on her favorite jersey. She's going to want that clean before her next practice on Monday. And I should double check to make sure that I didn't miss any other pairs of stained underpants. There's usually a few of them between Dad and Lynn. Sometimes Lincoln too, not that he'd admit to it."

"Gross." Luna commented. "I'm really glad that laundry isn't my chore. It's nastier than I would've guessed."

"Well what did you expect?" Lori asked with a giggle. "It's dirty clothes. Some are going to be worse than the others. Including some of your stuff too. Catch!"

Lori tossed a pair of purple, polka-dot panties at Luna's face. The brunette's hand flew up and caught them mid-air. She cast an irritated look at Lori who seemed to be resisting the urge to laugh at how Luna had reacted.

"Dude! Not funny!"

"Oh, relax. They aren't even dirty. Well, the are. But not that dirty. At the worst your stuff just smells sweaty. Mostly your tops."

"You smell my clothes?" Luna asked, giving her sister an odd look. "That's weird, dude."

"I said that your clothes can smell. I never said that I go sniffing them. Maybe if you didn't always leave them on the floor all week long, then they might not smell so bad. You can't tell me that Luan doesn't complain about it."

Luna shrugged. "She hasn't really mentioned it. But she definitely would let me know if she didn't like me doing that. We're pretty good at being honest with each other when it comes to our room."

"I know what you mean. Leni and I are pretty much the same. At least about most stuff. We still have issues when it comes to our wardrobes." Lori admitted before sighing sadly. "I wish I could be back up there with her right now. Even if it meant getting in an argument over who borrowed who's favorite top."

Lori finished loading the washing machine and closed the lid. She went to join Luna in folding socks, but found that her sister was gone. A quick look around let her see that Luna was heading up the stairs. As the brunette reached the top, Lori called out to her. Luna told her sister that she'd 'be right back' and then went through the door. Lori didn't object to Luna's sudden departure. She just figured that the other girl needed a bathroom break.

Meanwhile, Luna had gone up to her room. She grabbed her backpack from it's place by the dresser and then turned around to head for the room directly across from her own. The door was open, but she knocked on it anyway. Inside were Leni and Lincoln. She was looking through the closet and he was sitting on Lori's bed with some folded clothes and his toothbrush beside him. When they heard Luna knock, they both turned to face her.

"Hey." Luna said, smiling meekly at her siblings. "Mind if I bug the two of you for a sec?"

"Like, sure." Leni said. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to come in and apologize." Luna said. "And to grab Lori's school bag. We need to get started on our homework."

"Oh, okay. Is it alright if I join you? I got a lot of work to do on my English paper."

"No problem. I doubt Lori will mind. What about you, Linc? Wanna join your sisters for a homework sesh?"

"Can't." Lincoln stated flatly. "Even if I still had assignments to work on, they're in pieces. And in the trash. Besides, I won't be here for too much longer anyways. Bobby will be here to pick up me and Clyde soon and I need to pack a bag. I'll be staying the night with Clyde at his house."

Luna's face fell. "Bummer. Well, how about when you get back? Can we hang for a bit then?"

Lincoln nodded. "Okay. So, I take it that this means that you and Lori are getting along again?"

"Pretty much, little bro. We talked about some things. Still got more to talk about. Same with you. I know that you maybe might want to have a little more time before talking with Lori. But, you and me, we can talk about it, right?"

He nodded again. "Mmm-hmmm. How about tomorrow, after I get back from Clyde's? I should be back by dinner time."

"I've got an idea." Leni interrupted. "How about instead of getting a ride home, the two of you walk together? That way you can talk without anyone around to distract you."

Luna smiled at the idea. "Sweet thought, sis! Me and Linc can take the long way home too. Maybe stop by Flip's for a Flippee?"

"Okay, but only if you let me pay for my own." Lincoln said.

"Deal."

Luna held up her fist. Lincoln did the same and bumped Luna's. Then Luna pulled him in for a brief hug before going over to Leni and giving her one as well.

"Sorry for being a pain in the butt."

"It's okay. I know you weren't trying to be one. And making up with Lori totes makes up for it if you ask me."

They separated and Leni got Lori's school bag to hand to Luna. Then Leni stepped back into the closet, continuing whatever it was she had been doing before Luna had entered. After a few moments of searching she emerged again with a sparkly, purple backpack.

"Found it! Here you go, Linky. You can borrow this until we can get you a new one."

"Thanks Leni." Lincoln said, taking Leni's old bag and putting his things inside. "I need to get going. See you tomorrow."

He hugged Leni and went to the door, waving to his two sisters as he left. Once he was gone, Leni grabbed her schoolwork and both she and Luna descended into the basement. There they found Lori idly leaning on the dryer, multiple piles of neatly folded socks set atop the machine. Her eyes went to Luna as she entered, then to the two backpacks she was carrying and the corner of her mouth curved upward.

"So that's what you were doing." Lori said. "Bringing me more work to do. Thanks for that."

"Anytime sis. I know how much you love doing homework." Luna joked. "And I dragged Leni along too, so we can all have fun together."

Luna stepped over and set Lori's bag down beside her. Her eyes roamed across the dryer's top, counting out thirteen piles of socks total with each pile possessing up to four or five pairs each. But when she had left just a short while ago, Luna knew that she hadn't even found enough to fold ten pairs.

"Dude, how did you finish that so fast?"

"Experience." Lori stated nonchalantly. "I've done this enough times by now to have the hang of it. Which means that I win our little game."

"I don't remember agreeing to that." Luna said before giving her sister a smirk. "But if you say so. You win. And for your prize...You get to help Leni with her homework."

"Yay!" Leni chirped, clapping her hands. "I totes need it! Thank you, Lori!"

Lori chuckled nervously, a cold bead of sweat running down her face. "Um, is it too late for me to forfeit?"

Luna laughed at Lori's question. After a moment, Lori joined it, as did Leni, despite the fact that she didn't get the joke. And once they were done, the three settled themselves down to start to work on their assignments. Lori and Luna took a break when it was time to handle the laundry again, putting in another load to start after they had taken care of the other two. This was repeated again a short while later and then again not long after that. By the time the girls had managed to accomplish about all of their assignments, save for Leni who was struggling. So much so that she eventually just let out a groan of defeat and set the paper down.

"I totes cannot do this right now. Can we just, like, talk for a little bit instead?"

"Hold on a sec." Lori said, reaching for Leni's paper. "Let me take a look at it before you call it quits. What have you got so far?"

She picked up Leni's assignment and glanced at it. It was hardly more than a second later that Lori returned her attention to Leni, who could only offer a sheepish, yet guilty smile in return.

"Leni, you literally haven't written anything other than your name on this paper! What have you been doing this entire time?"

"...thinking?" Leni meekly replied.

Lori slowly shook her head, a small frown on her face. "And _when_ were you given this assignment?"

"Like, yesterday. And I've got until Friday next week. It only has to be three pages, but it has to be written. No typing it on a computer."

"Ugh. Mr. Leviat?" Lori asked. "He's the worst. Do yourself a favor and just ask Lisa for help."

Leni hesitated, the guilt still present in her eyes. "I...already asked her for help this week. Like, every day. I think she might be a little tired of me bothering her for help."

"Dude, why did you need so much help?" Luna asked. "Rough week at school?"

"Yeah, kinda." Leni admitted. "I had a history test on Wednesday. A physics test of Friday. And I had already failed that one once. Plus math homework. It keeps getting more confusing! Did you know that binomials don't have anything to do with buying stuff?" Leni asked, throwing her hands up. "I just don't get it!"

Lori patted Leni's shoulder reassuringly. "I literally know what you mean. I've already done all of it before. But don't worry, I can help you with the paper. Mr. Leviat is a tough teacher to have for English, but since I had his class I know what he expects in a completed paper. We can tackle it tomorrow morning, okay? Let's just chat like you wanted to for now."

Leni's mood quickly brightened, her sunny smile returning to her face. She readjusted herself to make herself more comfortable as both Lori and Luna settled down on either side of her. For a moment it seemed as though she might burst from excitement at any given second. And with good reason too. She had heard a very interesting bit of gossip from a friend from school and she was more than eager to share it with her sisters. The moment she began to relay the story to them she spoke with such fervor that it was similar to how she'd go on about her finds in her most recent expedition to the mall.

The duration of Leni's extensive story kept the three of them occupied long enough to allow the current loads of laundry to finish in the washer and dryer, Lori and Luna tending to them while still listening to Leni. From there they continued to pass the time talking about whatever came to mind. School, music and television, which of their friends had done what, and dating were among the list of things discussed. Eventually their conversation turned towards themselves and their younger siblings.

"All I'm saying is that babysitting is more difficult than you think, Luna." Lori said.

Luna scoffed. "Dude, I'm sorry, but you can't be serious. Only one of us is still actually a baby. The rest of us can look out for ourselves."

"That isn't the problem, Luna." Lori stated firmly. "Think of it this way. You all have me outnumbered and if I don't show some authority, you'll go completely out of control!"

"No way, sis. You're exaggerating."

"I literally am not! And it's not like you would know anyway. The closest you've ever come to babysitting is changing Lily's diapers. And those occasions are few and far between."

"What are you trying to say, dude?" Luna asked, narrowing her eyes. "You think I couldn't handle it?"

"No, little sister. I _know_ you couldn't. But you can try to prove me wrong. If you feel brave enough." Lori teased.

"Oh, so now you're challenging me?" Luna asked, a confident grin on her face. "Well, bring it on! And if I win, you owe me a lunch at the Burpin' Burger."

"Deal." Lori said. "But when _I_ win, you can treat me and Bobby to lunch at the Burpin' Burger."

"Deal!...Wait a sec. How come if you win I have to cough up enough dough for two?"

Lori thought for a moment. "Alright, fine. If you win then I'll pay for you and a friend. Hopefully a boy you like..."

"Or a girl." Leni added.

"Right, or a girl. Speaking of which, when are you going to finally come out and tell the rest of the family that you're bi?"

Luna's face flushed, a nervous look coming to her eyes. "I...I'm working on it! I even told Luan the other day! S-she was cool with it. Just like you and Leni."

"Wow, so now three of the twelve people you live with know your secret. Good progress." Lori said with a trace of sarcasm. "At least tell Mom and Dad. We'll be there to back you up."

"I...I dunno. I mean, yeah, I could...but..."

Lori crossed her arms and waited for Luna to continue. The rocker let her gaze fall to the floor, the nervous feeling growing. She knew that Lori wouldn't let her change the subject any sooner than she'd just drop it. But she really wanted to avoid the subject altogether. She looked back up at her older sister, knowing that her best bet was trying to find the middle ground.

"Okay, I'll tell them. I'll tell everyone, but I still don't feel ready yet. So when the time comes, just make sure that I don't chicken out, okay?"

Lori smiled and nodded. "I promise that I'll make sure that you tell them, no matter how afraid you may be at the time."

"And we'll be there to support you no matter what happens." Leni said, hugging Luna tightly.

"Thanks you guys. It helps to know that you got my back."

"You'll be fine." Lori assured her. "In fact, I say we get the big one out of the way and tell our parents once Dad gets home."

Luna opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by the sound of their mother calling to them. The three looked up the stairs and saw the woman standing in the doorway.

"How's everything going down there?" Rita asked them.

"Fine." Lori answered. "We're just working on our homework while waiting for the laundry to finish."

"Okay, that's good to hear. I just got a call from your father. He's on his way home and will need a little help with something. So I want you two to head out and do that when he gets here. Then you can help him make dinner. Except you, Leni. You just leave that to Lori and Luna."

"Oh, like, okay." Leni said.

"Mom." Lori said. "While you're here, I have a quick question. Just how long do you think I'll be at the anger management class tomorrow?"

Rita shrugged. "I can't honestly say. It depends on how long Dr. Finestein's niece is scheduled to have her room in the community center. Could be one hour or maybe two. Why do you ask?"

"Well, Luna has offered to take charge the next time you need a babysitter. And since you would be dropping me off, I just thought that maybe you and Dad could make the most of it. While I'm there, you two can go and do something to enjoy yourselves and then come and pick me up later. Luna said that she can handle things here until we all get back. Right, Luna?"

Luna nodded. "Yup. I can look after the pack for a little while. No sweat."

"Thank you, honey. That's very kind of you to offer. I think that your father and I will do that. I'll talk to him about it after you're done helping him."

Lori stepped beside Luna, putting her hand on her younger sister's shoulder. "Also, there's something that Luna needs to talk to you and Dad about after that. Something important."

Rita smiled. "If you mean she needs to tell me that she's bisexual, then don't worry about it."

Luna's jaw dropped. "You...you knew?"

"Not until just a few minutes ago." Rita confessed. "I overheard the three of you talking. And it doesn't make any difference to me." She reached out, caressing her child's face lovingly. "All I want is for you to be comfortable with who you are, Luna. And happy with what you do with your life. I won't think less of you, or love you any less, for who you find yourself attracted to. Just as long as whoever it is treats you right."

She kissed Luna's forehead and turned around to head back up the stairs. "We'll tell your father once you've finished helping him. He's got a little project he came up with yesterday. Something to do with our new house rules regarding you kids and fighting. So you two troublemakers hurry up and wait for him out front. He said he would be here any minute now."

Lori and Luna obeyed, both growing more curious as to just what to expect when their father arrived home. The answer came a few minutes later out in the driveway when a gray pickup truck pulled n with their father riding shotgun.

"Dude." Luna said. "Did Pops bring home a wall?"

 **End of chapter 13)**

 **Just another quick note. Thank you to DarthSidious04 for suggesting to have Luna babysit the other Louds. We'll be seeing a bit of that next time.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Well, it's about time I got back to work on this. After all, it's already...February?! There goes my new years resolution on cutting down my binge watching. Oh well, here's the overdue...**

 **Avoiding Estrangement Chapter 14)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Loud House and make no profit from this story.

"Hey girls!" Lynn Sr. called out as he exited the pick-up truck. "So? What do you think?" he asked, gesturing to the object in the truck's bed.

"I think you literally brought home a cubical wall." Lori said. "But, why?"

"I'm glad that you asked. I'll explain while you two help me unload it and bring it down into the basement."

He walked around to the back of the truck and opened the gate. Luna and Lori joined him and together, the three got the fifty-four inch tall wall off of the bed and over to the front porch.

"So, I had this idea this morning while I was cooking breakfast." he told the two teens as he opened the front door for them. "We only have so many rooms in the house and there are thirteen of us. So there are only so many places we can go without a chance of bumping into each other. But what if we had a designated area for someone who needs alone time to cool off? A chill zone, if you will?"

"Oh, I get it!" Lori said. "Sort of like a little place to go when you've had a bad day. Right?"

Lynn Sr. nodded. "Exactly. Now, I was able to get this old wall from the office since they were going to just have it sent off to the dump. We'll set it up in one of the corners downstairs, leaving enough space there to set up a small table. Or maybe a desk if we can find one. Then you kids can put some stuff there for when you need to deal with whatever is bothering you until either your mother or myself can check in to talk to you about what's wrong. And nobody else is allowed to bother you unless you want them to."

The father followed Lori and Luna as they slowly carried the wall inside. He spotted for them to make sure they didn't bump into any furniture or anything as they made their way over to the entrance to the basement. After they got it down there it was simply a matter of finding a location for the new addition. It required a little rearranging, but the three made a spot for it in the back corner, setting the wall so it stood perpendicularly to the staircase.

"Okay then." Lynn Sr. commented, stepping back to see how it looked. "That should be enough space. It just needs a little decorating and a comfy place for whoever's here to settle down and relax. You kids can discuss that since you'll be the ones making use of it. And if we can, I want to set another chill zone up in the attic too. But getting another cubical wall up there may not be as easy, if I can even get a second one in the first place at all."

"We'll figure it out." Lori said. "But this is pretty good for now. It's actually literally what I wanted yesterday. What...what I should have done." She hung her head in shame and then turned to face her father. "I'm really sorry about what I did yesterday, Dad. I caused a lot of trouble for you and Mom. Not to mention Lincoln."

"It's okay, Honey." Lynn Sr. said, placing his hand onto his daughter's shoulder. "Well, what you did wasn't okay, but you're showing remorse and that counts for something. Now, let's go and get started on dinner, shall we?"

"Actually, before that..." Lori began, nudging Luna with her elbow. "Before that..." She repeated, giving Luna another nudge.

"Dude, what?" Luna asked with mild annoyance.

Lori sighed and shook her head at her sister for a moment. Luna only stared at her in silent confusion, leaving Lori to face their father and continue with what she ahd been trying to get her musical sister to say.

"Luna needs to tell you something important. _Very_ important." Lori said.

Lynn Sr.'s brow furrowed ever so slightly, his eyes showing a mixture of seriousness and concern. He fixed his gaze onto his other child, who averted her own in return. Her reaction only furthered the growth of his feeling of worry. And this caused him to begin thinking of what could possibly be bothering her.

"Luna, kiddo, what's the matter? It's okay. You can tell me."

His gentle, encouraging tone didn't coax Luna into speaking. She did want to speak, but fear kept her mouth from opening. Lori cleared her throat to gain her father's attention again, taking hold of Luna's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Mom said we could tell you together." she explained. "To give Luna moral support."

The father nodded, "Of course. Let's go upstairs and into my and your mother's room for a little privacy."

"Okay." Lori said with a nod. "We'll be right up."

The girls let their father head up, Luna swallowing a lump in her throat. She glanced at Lori, tightening her grip on her older sister's hand. Lori locked eyes with her and smiled comfortingly. She went to follow their father, but Luna stopped her, tugging on her arm.

"Lori? I think I'm freaking myself out! What do I do if Pops isn't cool with it?!"

"Relax, Luna. Mom was okay with you liking girls, so..."

"Exactly!" Luna interrupted, panic in her voice. "If she's cool with it and Pops isn't, then they might fight! I don't want to happen! What if they..."

Lori hushed her sister by pressing her finger to the younger girl's lips. She gave her a firm look and prepared to leave the basement again. Only this time, she stood behind Luna and gently pushed her, encouraging her to move forward.

"You're literally being ridiculous, Luna. And you'll see that just as soon as you tell Dad the truth. Now let's go!"

After a moment, Luna began to move on her own, Lori keeping a step behind her. The two entered their parent's bedroom and Lori took a seat on the air mattress that served as her temporary bed. Luna stood in front of their mother and father, who were sitting beside each other on their own bed. She could see that her father was looking at her expectantly with concern still in his eyes. Something that wasn't making things easier for the already very nervous girl.

Seconds passed and Luna said nothing. Rita, sensing her child's unease, gave her a loving and reassuring smile.

"It's okay, Luna. Trust me when I say that your father isn't going to react much differently than I did. And he's still going to love you all the same. Right, Honey?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Of course." Mr. Loud said, snapped from his thoughts. "Luna, please just tell me what's wrong already. The longer you make me wait, the more you're making me concerned. Whatever it is that's bothering you, I promise that everything will be fine."

He stood up and stepped up to Luna, taking her hands in his own. She looked her father in the eyes again and he gave her a small smile. One that helped Luna muster up the strength to tell him.

"I...I like girls! I'm bi!" She blurted out, a hot blush tinting her cheeks.

For a moment, Lynn Sr. did nothing but stare at Luna with wide eyes. But then he suddenly burst out laughing, surprising the other three in the room. Luna was both confused and worried by this unexpected reaction. Rita on the other hand, was not even the least bit amused with him.

"And just what is it about that that you find so funny?" She asked, her hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He replied, managing to stop his laughter. "It's just that I was expecting to hear something _bad_. Like she had been expelled from school, or that some pervert had tried to force himself onto her! You know, an actual problem!" he let out a relieved sigh and pulled Luna in for a hug. "I'm sorry, Luna. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must have been for you to tell me that. But it's not going to make me stop loving you. There's nothing in the world that could change that."

Luna hugged her father back, , squeezing him tight with tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I love you too, Pops."

The hug went on for a few seconds longer before they separated. Then Lynn Sr. put his hands onto Luna's shoulders, a serious look coming to his face.

"However, we are going to need a couple new rules for you, young lady. For starters, you cannot have any friends in your room alone with you unless the door stays open. _Wide_ open. And if you go over a friend's house, you are to behave. I don't want to have somebody's parents telling me that they caught you fooling around with their son or daughter. Understood?"

Luna nodded.

"Good. Now I think we've had enough drama for one day. Let's go and get started on making dinner." the father said before turning to face his wife. "Care to join us, Honey?"

Rita smirked. "Well, I suppose that I should. If you really don't think that the three of you can handle things without me."

"There's no one else I would rather have supervising me." Lynn Sr. said, taking Rita's hand and helping her up onto her feet. "So what should we eat with our salmon tonight, Head Chef Rita?"

"Ooh, how about some steamed wild rice and garden vegetables?"

"Sounds good to me. Alright girls, you heard the boss! Let's get to work!"

He led the three Loud women out into the kitchen so they could all begin preparing the food. Soon the family was all gathered for their evening meal, aside of the sole brother and son of the family. But despite that, they enjoyed the food and talked like they normally did. It was a welcome experience for Lori after how dinner had gone the day before. She knew that she had yet to fully return to the good graces of her parents and siblings, but she felt that she was making progress. And she planned on making more of it first thing in the morning too.

-Loud House-

A delicious aroma filled the house the next day. Many members of the household were still snug in their beds, savoring the precious moments of sleep granted to them from a day off of school and work. Lori however had made a point to be up early on that day, willing to sacrifice the extra rest for the sake of preparing breakfast for her sisters and parents. Even if any of them happened to still be sore with her, she knew that they still wouldn't say 'no' to fresh chocolate chip pancakes.

Upstairs, some of the younger sisters were starting to cross from the realm of dreams back into the waking world. Lola Loud was the first, sitting upright in her bed and removing her sleeping mask. She caught the scent of Lori's cooking and she smiled widely, quickly getting out of bed.

"Lana!" Lola said, rushing over to her twin's side of the room. "Lana, wake up!"

A snore was the only response that Lola got. She frowned at Lana and pulled the other girl's blanket off of her in an attempt to wake her. But when that failed she next resorted to taking Lana's pillow and swinging it down on the girl's face, hard.

"Ahh!" Lana cried, startled from her dreams. She faced her sister and, upon realizing what had happened, gave her a sour look. "What was that for?! I was having a really cool dream! I was shrunk down really small and was riding on Hops's back!"

"Yeah, whatever." Lola said. "Tell me Lana, do you smell anything?"

Lana's brow furrowed and she crossed her arms. "Well excuse me, Princess. I didn't mean to gross you out. But I told you that I've been eating refried beans a lot lately and I don't have any control over what I do when I'm asleep!"

"EW! Gross! Not _that_ kind of smell! It's something yummy smelling, coming from downstairs! Daddy is making pancakes!"

"Pancakes?!" Lana repeated, an excited smile coming to her own face. She scrambled out of bed, grabbing her cap from the place she had left it atop her bedpost as she made a beeline for the door. "Hurry up, slowpoke!" she called back to the princess. "Or I'll eat yours for you!"

"Oh no you don't!" Lola exclaimed. "I'm getting first dibs!"

Lola chased after Lana. But just as she left their room, she had to stop in her tracks. Lana was on her butt just outside of their bedroom door. And standing in front of her, a disapproving look on her face, was their mother who was carrying Lily.

"Well that couldn't have felt good." Rita noted. "Are you alright?"

Lana nodded. "Yeah. Sorry for bumping into you like that, Mom."

"And that's exactly why I don't want you kids running around inside. Now come on, let's get you up off of the floor."

Rita took Lana's hand and helped her back up. The mother then carried Lily downstairs, both Lola and Lana close behind her. She entered the dining room and set Lily into her high chair. The twins took their seats beside each other at the table by Lily.

"Would you two like some juice?" Rita asked.

"Yes, please." Lola said sweetly.

"Me too!" Lana added.

Their mother went into the kitchen and a moment later, Lori came out with a plate of fresh pancakes, topped with whipped cream and strawberries. She approached the twins and held it out in front of her. The scent of the fluffy, golden discs reached the two, eliciting happy sighs from them.

"Okay, who wants the first stack?" Lori asked.

"I do! I do!" The twins said at the same time, raising and waving their hands eagerly.

The two six year-olds looked at each other, their eyes meeting and narrowing. For a few seconds neither girl moved or said anything. But then Lola smirked smugly and shook her head a little.

"Oh Lana. Silly, silly Lana. I think you forgot an important detail. I called dibs."

"Yeah, well...I didn't hear you say it, so it doesn't count!"

"Fibber! I _know_ that you heard me!" Lola said.

"Can't prove it!" Lana countered.

Lola growled and lunged at Lana. The two fell onto the floor and were soon rolling around while attempting to slap each other, pull the other's hair and dish out whatever names they could think to call the other. Eventually they wound up rolling right out of the dining room and into the living room where their fight continued. Lori watched them, not even the least bit surprised.

"I literally should have known better." She said to herself. "Oh well, it's their loss. They'll just have to wait while I just give these to someone else."

From her place in her high chair, Lily began to bounce a little and reached up towards Lori. The teen smiled at her baby sister and reached over to pat her on the head.

"Sorry Lily, but this is too much for your tiny tummy. But I made a baby-size pancake just for you. I'll be right back."

Lori turned to head back into the kitchen, setting down the plate of pancakes onto the table. And as she was just about to leave the room, Lisa entered. The kindergartener's eyes scanned the table, quickly locking onto the food that Lori had just put down. She walked over to the chair nearest the plate and climbed up onto it, licking her lips as she got a closer look.

"Just as I suspected." She stated. "The delicious aroma filling our dwelling is indeed flapjacks. With chocolate chips too! Are these reserved for anyone, Lori?"

"Nope. They're up for grabs. Help yourself."

"Don't mind if I do." Lisa said, rubbing her hands together before grabbing the plate. "I'll just consume these in the comfort of my room while I busy myself with my work. Thank you."

She carefully got down from the chair and went to return upstairs. But then she hesitated for a moment and then turned around to follow Lori into the kitchen.

"Lori, I wish to extend a sincere apology for yesterday. In hindsight, it was irrational of me to jump to conclusions they way I did. However, I would like to point out that the aforementioned irrationality stemmed from a lingering feeling of fear for Lincoln's well being. To make amends for this, I humbly offer you a free spontaneous tutoring session. Please feel free to pop into my room whenever you wish to take advantage of my intellect."

"I'll be sure to do that." Lori said. "And Lisa? Don't worry about yesterday. You were just looking out for your big brother. It was actually pretty sweet of you. If you literally ignore the fact that you were threatening me, that is. Now hurry up and go eat your breakfast before it gets cold!"

Lisa did as told and made her way to her room so she could enjoy her meal while busying herself with her current studies. Lori meanwhile went to get Lily's pancake and cut it into small pieces. However she found that it had already been done, by her mother.

"Oh, thanks Mom."

"Thank you for cooking breakfast today." her mother replied. "But maybe next time you make pancakes, you could try using your father's electric griddle. It would save you time because you'd be able to make twice as many at once."

"Wish I had thought of that. Then I could have made enough for both Lola and Lana."

Rita sighed. "They're at it again, aren't they?"

"Afraid so." Lori said with a nod. "Neither of them would let the other have the first plate."

"I'll go and talk to them. You just keep cooking."

She picked up Lily's plate, along with a carton of orange juice and two empty cups which she tucked into her arm. Heading into the dining room, she set down the cups and carton onto the table and then gave Lily her breakfast. A big smile came to Lily's face as the food was placed within her reach. With a happy giggle, she grabbed her pancake pieces and began to gobble them up.

"Well, someone's hungry this morning." The mother observed. "Hopefully having a full belly means you won't have any trouble taking a nap today. But we'll worry about that later. Right now Mommy needs to go and get your silly big sisters."

Rita, following the sound of her still arguing twin daughters, entered the living room and found them. Their fighting had come to a conclusion, despite the bickering that was still occurring. And it seemed that Lola had been to one to come out on top. Quite literally.

"Get off of me!" Lana demanded, flat on her belly and kicking her legs.

"Only when you let me have those pancakes!" Lola replied from her place sitting on Lana's back.

"Never! You don't need them anyway! You're heavy enough as it is!"

Lola gasped. "Did you just call me _fat_?!"

"Yup." Lana said with a smirk.

"Why I oughta!"

"You ought to what?" Rita asked, stepping forward and crossing her arms.

"Oh! Hi Mommy! I didn't see you there!" Lola blurted out, getting up and smiling sweetly. "Lana and I were just..."

"Just going to go sit down at the table and behave?" Rita cut in. "Sounds like a good idea to me. Unless the two of you would prefer a time out."

The twins shook their heads. Rita pointed towards the dining room and the girls returned to their seats at the table. As they sat down, their mother poured them each a glass of juice and set them down in front of the two.

"Your sister is busy making more pancakes in the kitchen right now. And when they're ready, you two will split them evenly."

"What about the pancakes she already made?" Lana asked.

"Your little sister took them."

"Lily ate them?!"

"Don't be a dummy, Lana!" Lola said. "There's no way she could eat them all!"

A small burp sounded, followed by a satisfied giggle. Lola and Lana turned towards the source of the noise, Lily's high chair. Lily, having just finished the last of her food, now occupied herself by smearing the remaining syrup all over her plastic plate with her already sticky hands.

"Lily!" Lola gasped in surprise. "You little piggy! You _did_ eat them all!"

Rita let out a small chuckle. "No, Lisa is the one who took them. I'm surprised neither of you noticed. Then again, maybe you couldn't because you were too busy with your little fight." she said, stepping over to Lily's chair and picking her up. "You need a bath, little lady. And as for you two, please be patient while Lori makes your pancakes. Because if you cause any more of a fuss, instead of pancakes, I'll have her make you both a healthy breakfast smoothie. She and Leni found a nice recipe for one that includes grapes, coconut...and spinach."

"EW!" Lola squealed. "Who would want to drink spinach?!"

"That's too gross, even for me!" Lana added.

"Then I recommend that you don't cause any more mischief. No 'her pancakes are bigger than mine' or 'hers have more chocolate chips' nonsense. Okay?"

The twins nodded and began to wait patiently as instructed. Rita carried Lily up to the bathroom to wash her up. On the way to the second floor, she passed by Luna who was on her way down to get breakfast.

"Good morning Honey." Rita greeted.

"S'up Mom. Hey Lilster."

"Ready for today?"

Luna nodded. "You bet. Don't worry, I'll keep the peace while you, Pops and Lori are all out."

"Good to hear. Then maybe you wouldn't mind taking charge sooner than planned? I was hoping to go with Lori and your father to start looking for new clothes and furniture for your brother."

There was a moment of hesitation before Luna spoke again. "Just how much sooner are we talkin'?"

"Not too long after breakfast. Maybe an hour and a half at the most. We're going to that nice store in Huntington Oaks that does custom-made furniture. And I want to be back with plenty of time before we need to drop Lori off at the community center. Are you okay with that?"

"You kidding? Of course I'm cool with it! Don't you worry about a thing. I'll have everything under control."

"I know that you will." Rita said, continuing up the stairs.

 _'Okay Lunes.'_ Luna thought. _'No biggie. You've got this. It's just babysitting. How hard can it be?'_

 **End of Chapter 14)**

 **Okay, so a bit of an odd place to leave off, I know. But I didn't quite get this chapter to be what I wanted it to be. So I'll be doing Luna's attempt at babysitting next time. Hopefully I won't get distracted agai...ooh, a new episode!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Yep. Happened again. Got distracted doing something else. I did a request for someone and it, as usual, wound up being a longer project than anticipated. But I don't regret that. It allowed me plenty of time to think up...**

 **Avoiding Estrangement Chapter 15)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Loud House and make no profit from this story.

"Are you sure that you don't want some advice?" Lori asked.

"Positive." Luna replied. "I can handle things, Lori. No sweat. It's not like you guys are going to be gone for that long."

"Okay, if you're sure. I'll see you later. Try not to let them get to you."

Lori gave her sister a wave as she left through the front door. Their parents followed, Rita handing off Lily to Luna as she passed by. The mother then gave her third and eleventh child each a quick kiss on their foreheads, eliciting a giggle from Lily.

"Bye-bye sweetie. You behave for your big sister, okay?" Rita cooed at the baby before looking at Luna. "See if you can get her to take a nap before lunchtime please. And do not hesitate to call if you have any problems."

"Don't worry about it, Mom. Everything will be alright. Trust me, I've got this."

"I have complete confidence in you, Luna." The mother said, placing her hand on Luna's shoulder. Then she raised her other hand near her mouth as she called out to the rest of the house. "We're going now, kids! We should be back in a couple of hours at the most. Luna is in charge! Love you!"

With that she turned to leave, closing the door behind her as she left. Luna carried Lily over to the base of the stairs and let out a loud whistle. A rumble sounded within a few seconds of the noise. Then Leni, Luan, Lynn, Lucy, Lana, Lola and Lisa all rushed into place from the various places they had been in the house previously. They all lined up like they normally did while Lori was in charge.

"Dudes, chill." Luna told her sisters, giving them a relaxed smile. "You don't need to stand at attention for me. Things are gonna be a bit different while I'm running the place."

"So why did you call us over here?" Luan asked.

"Just wanted to let you all know that even though I'll be in charge for a little while, you should feel free to bug me if you need anything. Other than that, just enjoy yourselves."

"Don't need to tell me twice." Lynn said, making her way to the kitchen. "I'll be out back."

"And I'll be working in my room." Lisa informed the others, heading up the stairs. "Please do not disturb me for anything other than something of the utmost importance."

The other sisters followed suit, all off to do their own things. Luna took Lily into the living room and set her down. Then she checked the time, thinking over her options.

"Alright little dudette. We still got a couple hours until lunch. And Mom wants you napping before then."

Lily blew a raspberry.

"I hear ya sis!" Luna laughed. "But Mom knows best. And you can get pretty cranky when you skip your nap. So here's my plan. You and me, we're gonna play for a little bit. Try to get you nice and sleepy. I'll put you in your crib and after you wake up, we'll eat some lunch. Then we can go right back to playtime. How does that sound?"

The idea of playtime definitely seemed to appeal to the youngest Loud. Her little blue eyes lit up with excitement and she clapper her hands while letting out a happy giggle. Luna took a quick look around the living room for something that Lily could play with. Her eyes fell on Lily's toy xylophone near the window. She walked over and grabbed it, bringing it over to her sister. Lily eagerly began to play with the musical toy, instantly amused with it. And as the little girl made her noise, Luna went for the stairs so she could go up to her room to retrieve one of her own instruments.

Lily watched her big sister leave the room. She didn't know why Luna had suddenly gone away like that, but she didn't like it. Luna had said that it was playtime. But she wasn't playing with her at all. This wasn't fun. Playing all alone rarely ever was.

Meanwhile, Luna had made her selection upstairs. Instead of going with her axe, she had picked out a set of bongos. That way Lily could try her hand at playing those too if she wanted. And Luna was more than willing to bet that Lily would. She began to consider picking out a couple of other instruments for Lily to try. But that's when a very strange noise caught her attention.

It was a little difficult for Luna to know exactly what it was that she was hearing at first. The best way she would've described it was a low rumble combined with a gurgling sound. Her curiosity got the better of her and she followed the odd noise to it's source at the other end of the hall. It was coming from the room on her right side.

Lisa.

Luna opened the door and took a look inside. The source of the noise became very obvious to her right away. One of Lisa's experiments was going out of control. A massive, green blob was slowly expanding across the desk. And Lisa was struggling to keep it contained. But the mass was already too much for her to handle and she was trying just as hard to not let it overwhelm her.

"Dude! What the heck is going on in here?!"

The sound of Luna's voice distracted Lisa. And as she looked towards her elder sister, the blob overtook her. Luna watched in shock as Lisa was instantly swallowed up. In the next moment, Luna rushed forward to rescue her younger sister. She plunged her hands into the goop, finding it to be thicker than molasses. Fortunately, Lisa wasn't so far in that it required much time to free her. Although it did take a lot of effort.

"Gotcha!" Luna exclaimed as she extracted Lisa from the still growing mass. "What is that stuff?!"

"I-It is an..." Lisa coughed and sputtered a little. "It is an organic containment gel. Quickly, shut the shades! Natural light accelerates its growth!"

Luna set Lisa down and hurried to the window. She had to press against the wall in order to reach around the goop and close the window-shade. Then she got away from the dangerous substance, grabbed Lisa and left the room. Once the door was firmly shut behind them, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, so _that_ just happened. _Why_ did that just happen?"

"I was attempting to create a compound which could be used to restrain an organism without impairing its need to respirate." Lisa explained. "There is still much I need to do to achieve the latter."

"Well you got that first part down. You're covered in whatever that slime was! That can be washed off, right?"

"In theory, it should be easily removed with hot water. But there is a small probability that I will need to wait for it to dry, at which point it should simply break apart with some effort."

"Right. So bathtime it is. Let's go little dudette." Luna said.

Luna carried Lisa over to the bathroom. She set the messy genius down and started to run the water in the tub. After waiting for the temperature to get warm enough, Luna plugged the drain. And while the tub filled, she got a few things for Lisa that she'd need. These included a clean towel, a wash cloth, her prescription goggles and some bubble bath.

Lisa removed her glasses, the goop that coated them causing them to stick to her face a little. She set them aside so they could be thoroughly cleaned later on and then she accepted the washcloth from Luna. The older girl had soaked it in the water that was filling the tub so Lisa could begin wiping her face clean before she would put her goggles on.

"I need to rush back down and check on the Lilster." Luna said. "But I'll be back to check on you in a few. Okay?"

"That won't be necessary." Lisa said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I am more than capable of handling things on my own from here. But thank you for your consideration."

"Alright, if you say so. The tub's almost full enough for you to start soakin'. And I put a little extra bubble bath in there for ya."

Luna turned off the water and put the bottle of bubble bath on the edge of the tub. She left Lisa alone to clean up, heading back down to the living room. Lisa finished washing away the goop from her face and put on her goggles. With her vision clear again, she inspected the bath that her elder sister had drawn for her. And it did not meet her expectations.

"Hmph, extra bubble bath indeed." She mumbled, grabbing the bottle in her hands. "This isn't even close to the optimal amount. I'll just have to rectify that."

Back downstairs, Luna had found that Lily wasn't where she had left her. The teen looked around the living room really quick before moving onto the dining room. But Lily wasn't in there either. From there Luna moved into the kitchen where she at last spotted the mischievous tyke. She had somehow gotten up onto the counter by the sink. And she was just about to take a sip from the bottle of dish soap that was kept by the faucet.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no!" Luna blurted out, rushing over to Lily and taking the soap from her tiny hands just in time. "This isn't what you think it is, little dudette!"

"Ba-ba." Lily said, pointing to the soap.

"No, not a ba-ba." Luna corrected, setting the soap back where it belonged and picking Lily up. "You thirsty, little sis? You want some juice?"

Luna went over to the fridge and opened it. She easily spotted a bottle of juice right away, sitting beside the jug of milk. Lily also saw it and reached out for it, flexing her fingers in a grabbing motion. Taking the hint, Luna grabbed the bottle of juice and closed the fridge. She then set Lily into her high chair and filled up a bottle for her to drink.

"There you go Lilster. Yummy grape juice."

Lily happily accepted the juice and began to guzzle it down. Luna went to return to juice into the refrigerator and then turned to face the counter. She scratched her head, her mind striving to figure out something important.

"How the heck did you get up there anyway?"

"How did who get up where?" Came a voice.

Luna turned and saw Luan entering the kitchen. The younger brunette walked over to the counter and opened one of the cupboards, removing a package of gingersnaps from the middle shelf. She pulled one out and took a bite, the sight of the tasty treats gaining Lily's attention. She set her bottle down and reached towards Luan, or to be more specific, the cookies her big sister was eating.

"Would Lily like a cookie?" The comedian asked, holding out one for her. "It wouldn't be a big deal if she had one, would it Luna?"

"Nah, one wouldn't hurt. Mom never said she couldn't have any snacks."

Luan gave Lily a cookie, which she greedily took and started gnawing on. Then Luan offered one to Luna as well, which the older teen accepted. But before she could take a bite, something struck the back door. Luna went to check it and found Lynn on the other side, a baseball bat in her hand. The athlete was in the middle of retrieving her ball, the cause of the noise they had heard.

"Hey Luna, wanna play?" Lynn asked. "I need to get a little practice in before my next game. My fastball needs a little work."

"Sorry sis." Luna said. "Not trying to play favorites, but I already told Lily that I'd play with her for a bit. And I also gotta figure out what to do for lunch."

Lynn rolled her eyes. "Two words dude: any leftovers. There, problem solved. So now could you please just help me out for a few minutes? It makes more sense if I practice against another person. Otherwise I'm just tossing a ball into the air and trying to hit it. Lily isn't going to mind if you aren't the one playing with her. She'll be happy as long as anyone does. Just have one of our other sisters do it."

Luna took Lynn's suggestion into consideration. The younger teen had a fair point. Luan was still in the kitchen with Lily and there wasn't any reason that she couldn't entertain their littlest sister for a while. Not any that Luna could think of anyway.

After taking a moment to check with Luan, Luna left Lily with her and she closed the back door. Lynn passed her bat to Luna and she took position in the middle of the yard. Luna moved over to the side of the yard, wanting to avoid having Lynn throw the ball in that direction. She didn't want to chance having to explain any broken windows to their parents. Especially not while she was the one responsible.

Lynn allowed Luna a moment to relocate and ready herself. Baseball may not have been Luna's thing, but she knew enough to be able to take a decent batting stance. She kept her feet spread slightly more than the width of her shoulders and bent her knees a little. Her hands gripped the bat firmly and she locked her eyes onto Lynn, awaiting the pitch.

She blinked and missed it entirely.

In the brief time her eyelids shut and then opened again, Lynn had taken the opportunity to throw the ball, which had whizzed through the air without Luna even noticing it until it was too late for her to hit it in time. She tried anyway, acting on a reflex. The bat swung through the air, just after the ball had passed by, making Lynn smirk triumphantly.

"Swing and a miss!" Lynn taunted. "It's too bad my team doesn't have it as easy as this. Maybe you should try keeping your eye on the ball next time."

"I had my eye on the ball. I saw it just before it shot past me." Luna joked, going to pick the ball up. "Are you sure that you need to practice? You seem to be doing pretty good."

"Yeah, but I can do better." Lynn said, catching the ball as Luna tossed it to her. "Now get ready for the next one!"

Luna took her batting position again, this time mentally preparing herself for Lynn's move. Lynn gripped the ball tightly, her eyes narrowing a bit. She threw her pitch, the ball speeding forward just like the previous throw. But now that she knew what to expect, Luna was able to react with better timing. She swung the bat and managed to make contact.

Both Luna and Lynn craned the heads back as the ball flew up into the air. It arced up and over the fence that separated their yard from Mr. Grouse's, landing on the roof and rolling down. It got stuck in the gutter where it sat on dead leaves that had collected there.

"Dang it. Looks like I can forget about getting that ball back." Lynn said, letting her shoulders slump slightly. "Guess we should call it quits for now. Mr. Grouse isn't gonna be happy when he finds that."

"We don't know that, sis." Luna said. "He's been a lot more chill about these things lately. Let's just ask him. It looks like he's coming outside now."

The back door to Mr. Grouse's house opened. The elderly neighbor of the Louds stepped out into his yard and began to look up at his roof, seeking out whatever had created the noise he had heard. By the time his eyes fell on the baseball stuck in his gutter, Luna had reached the fence.

"Hey Mr. G!" She greeted. "Sorry to bug ya, but could we get our ball back?"

"What do you mean by 'we', Loud?" Mr. Grouse said, turning to face his neighbor. "I don't see anyone but you over there!"

Luna looked over her shoulder and discovered that she was by herself in the back yard. Lynn had taken off shortly after Mr. Grouse's back door had opened, leaving her alone.

"Really?" Luna deadpanned, before shrugging it off and facing Mr. Grouse again. "Anyway, about the ball. May I have it back? Please?"

"Well, I don't see why not. It's not like you broke a window or anything. But try not to let it happen again or I'm keeping it! At least until your parents get back, that is."

Mr. Grouse fetched his rake and used it to reach up to the gutter. After a few moments of trying he got it out and let it drop to the ground. Then he picked it up and gently tossed it underhanded to Luna. She caught it and thanked him before heading back inside, finding Lynn waiting for her in the kitchen.

"Oh, hey! You got my ball back!" She said, stepping closer to Luna and reaching over to grab her belonging. "Thanks!"

"Uh, hold on a sec there dude." Luna responded, holding Lynn's ball up and out of her reach. "You mind explaining why you bailed on my back there?"

"Because I didn't want to get busted, duh." Lynn bluntly answered. "I got stuck doing chores over his house for a week on top of being grounded after I accidentally hit him with my football last month. Not something I want to repeat."

"Then just be more careful. Maybe save baseball practice for when you're in a field instead of the yard." Luna suggested. "It's not like you can't find something else to do. There are other sports you can play, right?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I do need to get in some soccer practice today too!" Lynn thought out loud. "Good idea, Lunes! You know where to find me if you need me!"

Lynn bolted out of the back door, brushing by Luna on the way out. Luna almost called her out for nearly bumping into her, but she decided to let it go. Her sister was just eager to go and do what she loved to do. And Luna didn't want to get on her case for that.

Luna left the kitchen and made her way into the living room. There she found Luan playing with Lily. The teen was using her sock puppets to entertain the baby girl and succeeding with ease. Lily giggled at the silly show, her joyous reaction fueling Luan to keep her tomfoolery going for as long as Lily wanted.

Lily picked up her bottle to take a sip. After a few seconds, she pulled it away and shook it, finding there was no more juice for her to drink. She held up her bottle to Luan, letting out a soft cooing nose to get the teen's attention.

"What's up Lilster?" Luan asked. "You want some more? Okay, let's go get you some more."

Luan removed her sock puppets and picked Lily up. She spotted Luna as she turned towards the kitchen, greeting her older sister with a smile.

"Oh, hey Luna. Just heading to get Lily a refill. What did she have in her bottle?"

"I gave her some grape juice earlier." Luna answered.

"Grape juice?" Luan repeated. "We don't have any grape juice."

"Uh, yeah we do." Luna countered. "It's in the fridge by the milk."

Luan went to check the fridge and a moment later Luna heard her burst out laughing. Then she poked her head around the corner to see what could possibly be so funny. Luan, holding the bottle of juice in her hand, was still cracking up. Luna approached her younger sister, one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"What are you laughing about, Lu?"

"This isn't grape juice!" Luan exclaimed, struggling to stop her laughing so she could speak. "It's _prune_ juice!"

Luna's eyes widened with realization when she heard that. Her eyes went from the bottle of prune juice down to Lily and back. But what she saw next is what truly surprised her. Luan was filling Lily's bottle up with more prune juice. She gave the refilled bottle to their baby sister, who began to happily drink it down.

"Dude! Why are you giving her more?!"

"Because she wanted some more." Luan stated frankly. "And I just couldn't say 'no' to that cute, little face! Besides, you're the one in charge right now. That means you're the one who has to change Lily's diaper. I guess you could say that it's your _doody_!"

"Real mature, sis." Luna commented. "And if I'm the one in charge, then what's to stop me from just making you the diaper changer?"

Luan shrugged. "Sorry, but I'm going to be a bit preoccupied for a while. I have some business to attend to. So I'll just be on my way now. Good luck!"

She took off, leaving Luna alone with Lily. Luna picked Lily up, the little Loud still drinking down her juice. At the rate she was going it wouldn't be long until she finished it again. And Luna could only guess how long she had until the inevitable occurred. She was not looking forward to that.

Of course there was still another problem as well. The not so little matter of the blob that was still inside of Lisa and Lily's bedroom. Luna didn't want to risk bringing Lily anywhere near that thing. Her best option would be to quickly get everything she would need to change Lily and bring it back downstairs.

Luna took Lily to the living room and sat her down on the couch. She turned on the television, finding something age-appropriate for the one year old to watch.

"Okay, Lily. Hang tight here for a sec. I'm just gonna pop up to your room and I'll be right back, okay?"

"Blankie?" Lily asked.

"Sure, I'll get your blankie for ya while I'm up there. You just stay here and watch your show."

Luna hurried up the stairs and over to Lisa and Lily's room. She slowly opened the door...and her jaw dropped. Things had gotten significantly worse in there since earlier.

The blob was now massive. It had overtaken nearly half of the room, including the changing table. Even if Luna dared to reach into the mass of goop, she really doubted that the diapers would be of any use. Maybe if they had been kept inside of the package that they had been bought in, but that wasn't the case.

"Dang it." Luna muttered. "Now what do I do?"

Luna started to close the door. But then she remembered she was also there to get Lily her blankie. Luckily Lily's crib had yet to be touched by the still expanding slime. Luna grabbed her baby sister's favorite thing and left the room.

 _'Okay, so I can't get diapers from in there. No biggie.'_ Luna thought. _'I can just get what I need from Lily's diaper bag. But what am I supposed to do about that thing?! Mom and Pops are gonna freak when they see it for sure! Lisa said water could wash if off you, but will it get rid of the whole thing? There was something else too. What was it again? I had better go and check with her.'_

Dashing to the other end of the hall, Luna grabbed the knob to the bathroom door. She opened it and rushed inside, her gaze going straight to the tub. A mountain of bubbles obscured anything inside of the fixture from sight. Luna became so distracted by this that she was completely unaware of the water that was on the floor.

"Hey, I need to talk with you Lis-AHH!"

As Luna set foot onto the spill, she quickly found herself losing balance. The next thing she knew, she was landing butt-first right in the middle of the water. She nearly let out a foul word, but managed to hold her tongue. She slipped a bit more as she tried to get back up, grabbing onto the toilet for support.

"Do you require assistance, elder sister?" Came Lisa's voice from the bubbles.

"Nah, I'm good. But why is the floor so wet?"

"My apologies. I am the one responsible for that hazard. But please understand that it was not my intention to put your physical well being at risk."

"It's fine, Lis. But we got a bit of a sitch in your room though. That slime is taking the place over! I thought you said that it wouldn't grow without sunlight!"

"Correction. I said that natural light accelerates its growth. That does not imply that a lack of natural light will cause its growth to cease."

"Okay, fine, whatever." Luna said. "So how do we take care of it? You said hot water and something else, right?"

"You need not worry, Luna. I will tend to the matter just as soon as I have finished bathing. Please permit me five more minutes."

Luna nodded. "Sure thing. I'll just take care of the wet floor for ya."

"Thank you, that is very much appreciated."

Luna grabbed a couple of clean towels. She used the first to soak up the bulk of the puddle on the floor and then the other to wipe up the remainder. During this she discovered that she had dropped Lily's blankie and it too had gotten wet. It would need to be put into the dryer along with the towels before she could give it to Lily.

On her way back downstairs, Luna took a peek into the living room to check on Lily. The baby girl was still on the couch where Luna had left her, mesmerized by the television. Luna started to sneak by, figuring it best not to let Lily know she was there. If she saw her walking by with her blankie, she'd want it for sure. And Luna didn't want to upset Lily by keeping it away from her since it needed to be dried off first. There was no doubt that doing so would make Lily cry and Luna didn't want to do that.

The rocker moved swiftly once she had made it to the basement door. She stuffed the towels and Lily's blankie inside of the dryer and turned it on. Now it would just be a short while until they be done and Lily could have her favorite thing back.

Luna went back upstairs and checked the time. it was getting closer to noon. She'd need to start getting lunch ready for everyone. And she still needed to try and get Lily to take her nap first.

 _'Maybe she'll fall asleep watching the tube.'_ Luna thought. _'I'll just go and sit down with her to keep her company after her blankie is dry. And when she nods off I can take the t.v. while she snoozes. Then all I gotta do is make sure she eats her lunch and soon enough Mom, Pops and Lori will be back. This babysitting stuff isn't so hard. Sure I hit a couple of snags, but I still don't see why Lori was making such a big deal about it.'_

Luna entered the living room and went to take a seat on the couch by Lily. But she found something awaiting her when she had arrived. A great big mess had somehow been made while she had been downstairs in the basement. The DVDs by the television had been scattered all over the floor and a few of the cases had been opened, the discs inside laying here and there. There was also a box of crayons that had been dumped out onto the floor as well as the contents to a board game that had been sitting on the coffee table, adding to the mess. And Lily was nowhere in sight.

"Oh come on!" Luna groaned. "Where did you go now, little dudette?!"

She did a search of the living room really quick, just to be sure Lily wasn't in fact still in there. Then, like she had done earlier, Luna went into the dining room to continue looking. She stepped on something soft while on her way, her eyes looking down to the floor. That something she had stepped on was the diaper that Lily had been wearing, leaving Luna with just one thing on her mind.

"Uh-oh."

 **End of Chapter 15)**

 **Luna's adventures in babysitting will be continued next time. I really wanted to avoid separating this part into two chapters, but had so much in mind that I just couldn't help it. Not sure if the next part will be as long as this one was, but I'll see what I can do.**


	16. Chapter 16

**So...it's been a while. Not going to go into details as to why it took me over six months to update, but long story short...a lot of not so fun stuff occurred. Regardless, I feel like I can return to focusing on this story as I may finally be out of the woods, so to speak. Not that I want to make any promises when I may not be able to keep them. Just be sure to peek in on my profile if any of you start to wonder what is going on regarding updates on any of my stories. At the very least, I plan on at least updating that when necessary. But for now I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter. And as always, honest reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome.**

 **Avoiding Estrangement Chapter 16)**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Loud House and make no profit from this story at all.

The good news was that the diaper Lily had left on the floor was clean. Although Luna wasn't so sure that this would remain a good thing for long. It was the only clean diaper she had at her disposal until she found the diaper bag. But first, there was the matter of finding the mischievous little streaker who was currently anywhere inside of the house.

Luna continued her search, checking every square inch of the dining room for Lily. After finding no further sign of the baby girl, she moved onto the kitchen. There she found nothing as well. But Luna did notice that the door to the basement was open and her gut told her that's where she should look next.

As Luna made her way towards the basement door, she suddenly found herself slipping on something. She barely managed to keep herself from falling by grabbing onto the table. But despite her efforts, she still found one of her knees in the puddle.

"Please don't be what I think this is." Luna muttered to herself.

Much to Luna's relief, she found that it was just water on the floor. Water that had been inside of a plastic cup which was currently lying on its side underneath the table. Luna took this as a sign that she was definitely on the right track. She could very easily see a certain little sister of hers being the one responsible for this mess.

After cleaning up the water and setting the cup into the sink, Luna ventured down into the basement. She grew a little concerned as she realized that the light wasn't on down there. There was no way Lily would climb down the stairs in the dark. At least, Luna hoped that she wouldn't. She decided to look anyways, not wanting to leave a stone unturned.

Luna turned the light on and looked around. She still didn't see the missing Loud anywhere. Although, the dryer door was open a bit and Luna found herself wondering if maybe Lily would have managed to crawl in there. But Luna dismissed it right away. Lily wouldn't try to do that, even if she could...would she?

There was only one way to now for sure.

Moving quickly, Luna got to the dryer. She leaned down, opening the door all of the way to get a good look inside. A pile of clothes sat in the drum, left behind from a last minute load of laundry that Lori had been working on that morning. It seemed like this was a dead end after all.

But just as Luna was about to turn to leave, she saw some movement inside of the dryer. There was definitely something in there, buried under the clean clothes.

"Lily? That you, little sis?"

Luna stuck her arm inside, reaching towards the back of the machine where she saw the clothes rustling. She lowered her head a bit, putting it in slightly as she inched closer. Her hand gently came down on the shirt covering whatever it was that moving and she pulled it away. A feline head turned to look at her, a yawn escaping Cliff's mouth as he was stirred from his nap.

"Dang it." Luna muttered, "I should have known."

" **LUNA!** "

The sudden, shrill voice calling her name startled Luna badly. She banged her head inside of the dryer as she jumped in surprise. Then she backed out and stood upright, placing both hands over the spot on her skull that where there was now a sharp pain.

"SONUVA!" Luna cried out, clenching her teeth afterwards to avoid saying anything more. She looked up towards the top of the basement stairs where Lola was standing. The feisty little blonde was wincing after witnessing Luna banging her head.

"Ooh, that had to hurt."

"It did." Luna muttered. "Anyway, what's up?"

"I just thought that you should know that Lily is crawling around upstairs without her diaper on. Oh, and there's some kind of gross, big, booger-thingy inside of Lisa's room. Lana keeps trying to play with it even though Lisa keeps telling her 'no'."

Luna was moving before she even realized it. She got to the upstairs hallway as fast as her legs could carry her. Lily came into her line of sight and she went straight for the mini-streaker. Tucking the diaper she had found in the dining room under one arm, Luna scooped Lily up and carried her into Lola and Lana's room. She laid Lily down onto Lana's bed and quickly put the diaper back on her.

"Now you be a good little dudette and keep that on." Luna told Lily, who was fussing a bit from the unexpected attention.

With that problem now solved, Luna picked Lily back up and left the twins bedroom. Out in the hall she spotted Lana and Lisa. The younger of the two, who was currently covered in a green bathrobe, was pushing Lana away from the large, green blob that was still slowly filling the room.

"Aw, come on sis! Can't I just have a little piece of it?" The dirty twin implored.

"Certainly not!" Lisa replied. "That would result in two of them expanding within our domicile! It will be enough of an endeavor to dispose of just one, so dividing it is absolutely out of the question!"

Lana pouted and crossed her arms. She stood in front of her little sister, not intending to go anywhere. Lisa knew that Lana could very well just go behind her back to take a piece of the gooey mass if she were to walk away for even the smallest amount of time. Luna picked up on this as well and started to think up a means of diverting the six year old's attention.

Fortunately, it occurred to Luna quickly enough that she had the perfect distraction already in her arms.

"Hey Lans." Luna said, stepping over to the younger girl. "I need ya to do me a big favor. Could you watch some TV with Lily while I take care of a few things?"

"Okay!" Lana said, her eyes lighting up.

"Thanks, sis." Luna said, starting to head back to the stairs. "I shouldn't need long to do everything, so you just sit with Lily and call me if there's any problems, okay?"

Lana nodded and followed Luna down to the living room where she hopped onto the couch. Luna set Lily down next to her and got the remote. Then she headed back upstairs and rejoined Lisa who was waiting patiently.

As she got closer, Luna dared to peek inside of Lisa's room. The blob seemed much larger now than she remembered it being earlier. It was easily more than enough to unsettle her, even if it was only her imagination. The one thing that was helping Luna keep her cool was how calm Lisa seemed to be about the whole thing.

"So, you can fix this. Right?" Luna asked, her voice carrying her anxiety.

Lisa sighed and glanced into her room.

"Well...yes and no." She said a bit hesitantly. "I _should_ be more than able to dispose of the problem. But I cannot do so at this current time due to one, tiny inconvenience. I lack a necessary item to accomplish the solidification of the gel. If we cannot do that, then it will only continue to expand indefinitely."

Luna groaned. "So we can't do anything about this?!"

"We are capable of resolving the issue." Lisa calmly assured her older sister. "However, we will need to go on a brief excursion to obtain the missing item I mentioned. I would go myself, but our parental units insist that I have an escort."

To Luna's surprise, and also to her relief, Lisa informed her that they would need to go to Flip's Food & Fuel to obtain what she needed. The only drawback was the amount of money that Flip would want in exchange. Luna was low on cash thanks to a concert she had attended a week ago. One which had required her to borrow a bit of money from Luan which she had paid back using a good portion of her allowance. She didn't even have ten dollars to spend until she could earn some more green.

Fortunately, Lisa claimed she was more than ready to cover whatever Flip charged. Luna only needed to walk with her. And as a bonus, she could take Lily along to hopefully get her to finally take her nap. Not to mention keep a closer eye on her.

Heading back downstairs, Luna retrieved Lily's stroller and began seeking out the diaper bag. Her earlier peek into Lisa and Lily's room had revealed that it thankfully wasn't in there. But despite that stroke of luck, Luna couldn't find it anyplace else. Not in her parents' bedroom, the living room, the dining room, the kitchen or in the basement. Although she did find some clean clothes for Lisa to wear down there.

As Luna continued her search for the bag, she double checked everywhere and triple checked all of the closets just to be extra sure. But she still couldn't find it. She nearly dared to try looking inside of Lisa and Lily's room again, but then got the idea to try calling her mother.

Luna took out her cellphone and dialed her mother's number. She answered on the second ring, Luna finding comfort in the sound of her mother's voice. The teen hadn't even realized that she had been getting so tensed up from everything that was going on.

 _[Hey Sweetie. Did you need something?]_

"Kinda." Luna said, trying her best to sound calm. "I can't find Lily's diaper bag. I was thinking of taking her for a walk."

 _[That's a good idea. It's what I always do when I have trouble getting her to nap. Unless I'm too tired myself.]_ Rita joked. _[Anyway, I'm afraid that you won't find the diaper bag at home. We forgot to bring it inside yesterday so it's still in Vanzilla.]_

"Dang it."

 _[Oh don't worry about it. You can just grab the wipes and a couple diapers from the changing station and put them into a reusable grocery bag. And don't forget to bring a bottle for her too.]_

"Got it." Luna said. "So, are you guys going to be much longer?"

 _[About another hour or so. Lori wants to keep looking for new clothes for your brother. We're having a little more trouble finding shirts in his favorite color that are also in his size.]_ Rita answered with a chuckle. _[I'll see you soon, okay? Call me if you need anything else. Love you!]_

"No worries, Mom. I told you that I've got this. Love ya!" Luna said just before she ended the call.

 _'I so do not got this!'_ Luna thought in a panic. _'Even if I didn't need to take Lis to Flip's, I doubt I'd be able to get rid of that thing in her room before they get home!'_

Luna began to pace back and forth, her hand gripping her phone tightly. She needed to get going right away, but there was a problem that only just came to her mind. If she left, then she wouldn't be able to keep an eye on the rest of the younger sisters. Not that they all needed her supervision. Luan and Lynn could look after themselves easily enough. Or at least Lynn could keep herself occupied for the little while that they'd be gone. But the same couldn't be said of the twins or Lucy. And Luna wasn't about to pass them off to Leni since that would be basically her ditching the whole babysitting job in Luna's opinion.

Then again...Luna didn't have to leave the younger siblings behind. Yeah. That would work just fine. Leni and Luan would stay at home since Luna didn't need to watch them. Lynn too. Then she could just take all of the little dudettes out for a short while. After they got back she would make lunch while Lisa hopefully took care of the problem upstairs. And as a bonus, while she was out, she could also get more diapers to replace the ones that were no longer usable thanks to aforementioned problem.

A cry of disgust sounded from the living room. Luna rushed over and found Lana and Lily still seated on the couch. Lola was also there, but she was currently backing away from the other two while pinching her nose shut.

 _'Oh no.'_ Luna thought. _'Please don't tell me.'_

"Luna! You just missed it!" Lana said, taking notice of her big sister. "Lily just let out a _huge_ fart!"

"Poo poo." Lily said.

Luna's shoulders slumped and she sighed. "Of course you did. Great, just great." Luna mumbled. Then she took a deep breath and stood upright again. "Okay little dudettes, we're gonna go on a little trip. So get ready, we leave in five."

"Where are we going?" Lana asked.

"Just a quick run to Flip's and back." Luna replied. "I'm gonna go find Luce and grab Lily's stroller. You wait here for me, okay?"

She went to ascend the stairs, but then a knock at the door caught her attention. With some reluctance, she went to answer and see who was there. When she opened the door, she found Mr. Grouse standing there with a sour expression on his face. He was holding his glasses up to his eyes and in his other hand was a soccer ball.

"Oh, hey Mr. G, what's up?" Luna asked, despite having a pretty good idea already.

"I'll tell you 'what's up', Loud! I was in my yard, minding my own business, when suddenly I got hit in the head by this!" Mr. Grouse snapped, holding the ball up. "Darn thing broke my glasses! Do me a favor and have one of your parents come to see me when they get back. In the meantime I'll just hang onto this. And tell that sister of yours to be more careful!"

Yup. It was pretty much what Luna had expected.

"Sorry about that, Mr. G. I'll go talk to her right now. You gonna be alright getting back to your place?"

"I made it over here just fine, didn't I? I'll be fine on my way back, thank you."

He turned to leave and Luna closed the door. Then she went to the back door and checked to see if Lynn was in the yard. At first there was no sign of the athlete. But Luna noticed something interesting while she looked. The side door to the garage was slightly ajar.

Luna made a beeline for the open door and let herself inside of the garage. Sure enough, she found Lynn inside. The girl was peeking out the window on the opposite side of the garage, most likely checking to see if the coast was clear. Luna, now feeling more irritated than before, approached the younger brunette and grabbed her shoulder.

"Dude, seriously?" She snipped. "You hit Mr. Grouse off the head with your ball and then just ditch? Not cool!"

"It was an accident!" Lynn said in her defense.

"Then why didn't you just apologize instead of ducking in here?" Luna countered.

"Because I didn't want to get in trouble!"

Luna pinched the bridge of her nose. "Dude, he's gonna talk to Mom and Pop when they get home. Sorry, but it looks like you're getting busted anyway."

"Dang it! Now I'm gonna get stuck doing chores over his house again! And probably get grounded from sports at home too!"

"I don't know what to tell you, sis." Luna said with a shrug. "But you might wanna take it easy from here on. You don't need to get into any more trouble. So maybe no more tossing or kicking any balls around for a while, okay?"

"Then what the heck am I supposed to do for fun?" Lynn asked, crossing her arms.

Luna took a moment to think. She looked around the garage, her eyes falling onto Lynn's roller skates. Those would keep Lynn occupied. Luna grabbed them and held them out for Lynn to take.

"Here, why don't you put these babies on and tag along with me for a bit? I'm taking our little sisters to go to Flip's really quick."

Lynn accepted her skates from her older sister. She seemed to think over the offer for a moment and then narrowed her eyes a little bit at Luna.

"I just have one question for you. Are you treating?"

"What? No way dude. I don't have a lot of green right now. I just need to buy some new diapers for Lily, that's all."

"Oh yeah, _that_ sounds like fun." Lynn said, rolling her eyes. "I'll just stay here, thanks."

Luna shrugged and left the garage to hurry and get everything ready for the trip to Flip's. She got Lily's stroller and a fresh bottle of (not prune) juice in case she got thirsty. Next she would need to tend to Lily's full diaper. It wasn't a very long walk to get to Flip's, but still too long to leave Lily without a change. There was also the fact that, like all of the diapers, there were no baby wipes available.

While she pondered her options, Luna paced back and forth by the stairs. She knew there had to be a way to take care of Lily's dirty diaper without waiting until they got to Flip's. But she kept drawing blanks. It was becoming really frustrating. Eventually she just gave up and hoped that putting Lily's diaper change on hold wouldn't turn out to be a problem. It wasn't like it would bother Lily to have to wait.

After double checking to make sure she had what she needed for the walk, Luna went to get Lily. She mentally prepared herself for the pungent stench that she'd encounter as she got closer to the baby girl. But Luna discovered that there was no smell at all. In fact, it seemed that Lily's diaper had somehow been replaced.

"What the?"

Luna picked Lily up, her youngest sister giggling and kicking her feet from the attention. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that a t-shirt had been put in place of the now missing diaper. One of Lana's shirts if Luna wasn't mistaken. It had been wrapped in such a way that made it appear similar to a diaper and was being held in place with some sort of tape. And from what Luna could see, it seemed pretty secure.

Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, Luna chose to just let it be. She got Lily situated in her stroller and gave her a toy to play with during the walk. Then she went to find the rest of her little sisters so they could get a move on. The twins were still in the living room, seated on the couch with their eyes glued to the television screen.

"Hey you two, we're heading out in a couple minutes. So be ready, alright?" Luna said to them as she went to the stairs.

"Kay." The twins said in unison, neither looking at Luna when they replied.

Luna went up to the second floor, stepping into her room to grab what little money she had. On the way inside, she noticed that Luan was on the phone. It was the one that she used strictly for her own personal calls for Funny Business Inc. She was undoubtedly talking to someone who wished to hire her. The moment Luan saw her big sister in the room, she held a finger up to her lips, further convincing Luna of the importance of the call.

Giving her younger sister a nod, Luna went about getting her money and house keys. She scratched down a quick note for Luan and then ducked out of the room. Luan picked up the scrap of paper that Luna had left in front of her and skimmed over it quickly. Her eyes widened a bit and a devious smirk came to her lips. She finished her current phone call and then picked up her daily planner, pretending to look through it while she glanced out into the hallway.

Luna, who had crossed to the room opposite of hers and Luan's, was raising her hand to knock on the door. But before she could make contact, the door opened and she found herself nearly bumping into Leni. The older teen was in her bathrobe and carrying a little basket with her loofah, shampoo, conditioner, bath beads and a bath pillow.

"Oh, hey Luna." Leni greeted. "Did you need something?"

"Not really. Just wanted to let ya know that I'm taking the little dudettes for a short walk before lunch."

"Aw, that's so nice of you! I totes bet that they'll like that. You're such a good big sister. And a good babysitter too!"

A nervous smile came to Luna's face. "Uh, yeah. I guess I am. Anyway, I need to get a move on. Just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't wonder where we went."

"Like, okay." Leni said, passing Luna and heading into the bathroom. "I'm going to take a nice, hot bath. If I'm still in there when lunch is ready, just let me know, okay?"

"You got it. Be back in a bit."

Luna turned around and went to peek into Lucy and Lynn's bedroom. She found it to be empty at first glance, but knew better than to assume that no one was in there. The sight of Lucy's coffin sitting by the spooky girl's bed with it's lid in place caught her attention. Luna stepped up to it and gently knocked on the solid mahogany.

"I'm right here."

The sudden sound of Lucy's voice coming from directly behind her startled Luna. After jumping a little and feeling her heart race, she turned to face the young goth. Luna took a deep breath to calm herself and then sat down on top of Lucy's coffin.

"Dude, please don't do that!"

"Sorry." Lucy replied. "But it looked like you came in here looking for me. So I just thought I'd say something. I was actually looking for you too."

"You were? Why?"

"So I could give you these. Lisa said that you might need them." The little goth answered, holding out some sort of folded cloth in one hand and a small pack of baby wipes in the other.

"No way, where did you get these?" Luna asked, taking the wipes from Lucy's hand.

"They actually belong to Lynn."

Luna stared at the younger girl for a moment, unsure of what she had just heard.

"Seriously?"

Lucy nodded. "Sometimes she needs them. It's one of the drawbacks of having so many spicy foods in your diet."

"Gross, dude."

"At least you don't have to share a room with her." Lucy said. "Anyway, if you need more diapers, just let Lisa know. She said she would make them if you need her to before we go to Flip's. But she thinks that one will be enough."

"Works for me. If you're gonna come with then hurry and get ready. We gotta make this quick."

Luna took the makeshift diaper and went down to Lily's stroller to put it along with the wipes into the little basket underneath. Then she got the twins, with a bit of resistance, to turn off the television and leave the couch. And finally she got Lisa, who was now dressed and carrying her school bag, to hurry up and join them downstairs.

"Apologies, I was busy preparing for our venture. I am ready to depart whenever you wish."

"Cool, because we're going now." Luna said, starting to push Lily's stroller towards the door. "And we're gonna make this quick. I need to get you little dudettes home to eat lunch before our parents get back with Lori."

The group left the house, Lisa getting the door for her sisters. As they made their way to the sidewalk, Lily threw her toy puppy onto the grass. Luna stopped to pick it up, handing it back to Lily. Not even three seconds later, it was on the ground again.

"Careful Lilster." Luna said, picking up the toy again. "If you keep dropping your doggy, you might lose him."

Lily held onto the toy for another few seconds before throwing it again. Luna retrieved it, grumbling a little as she realized that this would not be the last time she would be doing this. Nevertheless, she started to push the stroller again with Lisa walking by her side and the twins rolling along in Lola's jeep.

Back inside of the house, one of the sisters watched from the living room window as Luna walked away. Luan smiled, a mischievous look in her eyes. She stepped over to the couch, settling down on it and taking out a cell phone. Not her normal one that was on the family plan. This one was a cheap, pay-as-you-go flip-phone that she only ever used for one thing.

Prank calls.

"Hola señor o señora." The trickster said in perfect Spanish as her call was answered. "Llamo hoy para ofrecerte un trato único sobre el seguro de volcanes."

 **End of Chapter 16)**

 **Yep, this is going to be continued in the next chapter. Really tried to keep it from being more than two parts, but it seems that Luna's babysitting will now be three chapters long. But I will most certainly have this part of the story wrapped up by next time. Then after that it should be too much longer until this story is at last complete. Provided I can finally stick to a darn schedule, that is.**


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